Kurdistan · Public Transport

Public transport in Kurdistan already exists. Now let’s make it visible.

A voluntary initiative to map, digitize, and connect the bus routes that already exist across Kurdistan — starting with data, built by community.

KURDbus

Buses already run. Routes already exist.

A research-based project to map, digitize, and bring Kurdistan's existing public transport system to life.

Public transport in Kurdistan already exists. Now let’s make it easier to understand and use.

A voluntary initiative to map, digitize, and organize the public transport routes that already exist across Kurdistan — starting with research, community participation, and real transportation data.

Passenger app map screenshot
The idea behind it

The idea behind it

In developed countries, public transport is one connected system. Buses, trams, and trains run on fixed schedules: every 10 minutes, every 20 minutes, from a fixed time to a fixed time. A passenger opens an app, finds their route, sees when the next bus arrives, and plans their day around it. The system works because people can trust it.

S-Bahn train in a city stationS-Bahn
City bus in BerlinBus
Yellow tram in a city streetTram
U-Bahn train at a stationU-Bahn
Transit departure board with clockSchedules

In Kurdistan, we already have buses. They are privately owned, they run every day, and the routes are mostly fixed: from neighborhoods into the city center and back. But they do not run on schedules. They wait until enough passengers fill the seats, sometimes 10 people, sometimes 15, before they move. There is no app, no timing, and no way to know from home whether a bus is coming.

So most people do not use it. Not because they are against buses, but because standing on a street waiting for something that may or may not come is not a plan. It is a gamble.

This project has a personal origin. In May 2025, while working on choosing my thesis topic, I kept coming back to this same problem. After several proposals and discussions with my professor, it became the direction for my research — and the plan is to build it much further from here.

The idea behind it

What is KURDbus?

In many developed countries, public transportation is not only buses, trains, or trams — it is also a connected digital system. People can use an app or website to understand which route to take, where buses stop, when they arrive, and how to reach their destination.

•which route to take •where buses stop •when they arrive •how to reach their destination

This makes public transport easier to trust and easier to use. In Kurdistan, buses and minibuses already move thousands of people every day, but much of this information is still difficult to find or understand.

What we thought

We can't change everything today. But we can start today.

Redesigning the system takes time: planning maybe one year, implementation maybe two. But why wait to use what we already have?

If we connect the physical system that already exists with a digital layer, drivers logging in, sharing their location, and passengers seeing real routes and real movement, the system becomes more usable without changing a single bus.

That is what KurdBus is trying to do.

Project origin

Why did this project start?

We know large public transport systems require infrastructure, planning, investment, and time. KURDbus cannot build metros, trams, or bus systems. But that does not mean we should wait without doing anything.

So we asked a simple question: what if we start by understanding and organizing the system that already exists today? What if route information becomes easier to access digitally while larger improvements are still developing?

Survey intro

Before building, we asked people.

We published a public survey across Sulaymaniyah, Hawler, Halabja, Duhok, and Kirkuk. More than 565 people answered. We asked how they move daily, why they avoid buses, and what would change their mind.

What we found: most people in the cities did not even know all the bus lines that exist. And those who do use buses said the biggest problem is not the bus itself. It is the uncertainty.

To better understand transportation challenges, KURDbus published a public survey across Kurdistan. More than 500 people participated from Hawler, Sulaymaniyah, Halabja, Duhok, and Kirkuk.

•how they move daily •why they use or avoid buses •what would make public transport easier to use
Open the Survey
565+survey responses
5+cities represented
39known Sulaimani bus lines
Many people are not against buses. Many people are against uncertainty.

What did we learn?

The survey results suggest that transportation challenges are not only related to infrastructure, but also to the lack of clear and digitally accessible information. Many participants showed willingness to use buses under better conditions, especially when routes, timing, and stops become easier to understand. The findings also suggest that visibility and accessibility of transportation information may be just as important as physical transportation improvements themselves.

The idea

Reconnect what already exists.

KURDbus is an attempt to map and organize the bus routes that already exist across Kurdistan. The goal is simple: help people understand where buses go, which routes they can use, and how public transportation connects across the city.

If drivers and transportation authorities also participate in the future, passenger information and live movement can eventually become part of one connected system.

The KURDbus system

Three apps, one connected system.

The apps are the digital layer for the system that already exists: passengers understand routes, drivers can share movement, and volunteers can help map new lines.

Each app plays a specific role in making public transport in Kurdistan more visible, more usable, and community-driven.

Passenger App

From mapped lines to clear route steps.

See all mapped bus lines, search routes, understand transfers, and know where buses go, even without a driver online. Sulaymaniyah is fully mapped with 39 lines. Hawler mapping has started with the first line done.

01See all mapped lines and understand where buses go.
02Sulaymaniyah is fully mapped with 39 lines.
03Hawler mapping has started with the first line done.
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play
Passenger app map screen
Passenger app route screen
Passenger app route steps screen
Sulaymaniyah bus lines map
Sulaymaniyah 39 lines mapped
Hawler routes in progress
Hawler 11 lines mapped
🧭

Passenger App

Available
All Cities

Search routes, see bus lines, understand transfers and walking parts, and navigate Kurdistan with clearer public transport information. The same app works across all cities.

Download on theApp Store ▶ Get it onGoogle Play
Sulaymaniyah bus lines map
Sulaymaniyah 39 lines mapped
Hawler routes in progress
Hawler 11 lines mapped
Driver App

Driver App

Drivers Only
City-specific

Drivers share live or near-live bus positions so passengers can see real-time movement. Each city has its own version — only for bus drivers.

Drivers log in and share their live location. Each city has its own driver app. When drivers participate, passengers see real-time movement.

Available per city

Driver Suly
Driver
Suly
Driver Hawler
Driver
Hawler
Driver Halabja
Driver
Halabja
Driver Duhok
Driver
Duhok
Driver Kirkuk
Driver
Kirkuk
Route Recorder

Route Recorder App

For Volunteers
Any City Community

Ride a bus and record the route. Start GPS recording when the bus moves, stop at the end, and submit the file with a short description. Each recording helps build the city map for everyone.

Ride a bus, record the GPS route, and submit it. Every recording adds one more line to the map. We already mapped Sulaymaniyah and started Hawler ourselves, but 40 volunteers, one line each, can map an entire city.

Download on theApp Store ▶ Get it onGoogle Play
Data

All data collected by us.

Every bus line, every route, and every GPS recording in this project was collected by ourselves, on our own time and at our own cost. This is not scraped or estimated data. It is real.

Over time, as the dataset grows, it can support research, urban planning, and smarter transport decisions across Kurdistan.

Community mapping

Help map your city.

You do not need technical experience to contribute. Anyone who already uses buses can help record routes by simply riding normally and recording the trip using the Route Recorder App.

Every recorded route helps make transportation information clearer for everyone else.

Passenger app screenshots

From map lines to route steps.

These early screens show how people may see routes, possible directions, and step-by-step movement information.

App screenshot
App screenshot
App screenshot
Possible future dashboard

Collected data can become useful for planning.

As route recordings, driver participation, and passenger feedback grow, KURDbus can also provide a simple dashboard for people who manage or study public transport. The goal is not to make big claims, but to organize the information clearly enough that better decisions become easier.

A dashboard built for transport managers, city planners, and authorities. Every route recorded, every trip logged, and every driver connected feeds into one place — so decisions are based on real data, not guesses.

01

Mapped Routes

Show which routes have already been recorded and which parts of a city still need more data.

02

Driver Participation

Help understand where driver app participation exists and where live information is still missing.

03

Survey Insights

Keep public feedback, route needs, and transport problems visible in one place for future planning.

📊

Route Performance

See which lines carry the most passengers, where gaps exist, and which routes need attention — updated as new data comes in.

🗺️

City Coverage Map

Track how much of each city is digitized. Identify unmapped areas and direct volunteers or drivers to where data is missing most.

🚌

Driver Activity

Monitor which drivers are active, which lines have live coverage, and how participation changes across shifts and days.

👥

Passenger Flow

Understand how people move through the city — busiest hours, most-searched routes, and where demand exceeds current supply.

📅

Planning Tools

Use collected data to improve schedules, propose new lines, and justify budget decisions with evidence rather than estimation.

📤

Export & Reports

Download structured reports for city authorities, universities, or funding bodies. The data belongs to the city — and the city should use it.

Voluntary & open

Nothing is perfect. That is what makes it worth building.

Maybe the app has glitches. Maybe some information is not perfectly right yet. Maybe you have a suggestion, a correction, or a critical thought. Good. We want to hear it.

This is not only about technology. It is about making a real problem visible inside our cities, our universities, and our communities, and doing something practical about it.

Whether you are a resident, a student, a teacher, a driver, a researcher, someone living far from the city, or simply someone who wants better cities, you are welcome here. It does not matter who you are.

And this is not only for big cities. If someone wants to map a small city or a village route, we can make it happen. We build this together.

Nothing is perfect — and that's the point.

The goal is simple: make public transport reliable enough that you choose it over your personal car — to get to work, to university, to move through your city every day. When that happens, cities get smarter, streets get less crowded, and CO₂ emissions go down for everyone.

This is not a finished product. It is a voluntary first step — and no voluntary first step is perfect. But the work of getting there starts somewhere.

Whether you are a resident, a student, a driver, a government authority, a private sector company, a university researcher, or simply someone who shares the same desire for better cities — you are genuinely welcome here. We build this together.

Contact

We'd love to hear from you.

This project is open to anyone who believes public transport can be better. Tell us who you are and how you want to contribute — every message is read personally.

You can reach out as a resident, volunteer, driver, researcher, government representative, or private sector partner. All are welcome.