İstanbul hikes public transport fares by 51% amid rising costs

Photo: İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality

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İstanbul has implemented an increase of 51.52% in public transportation fares, as well as substantial hikes in taxi fares and school and workplace transportation fees.

The decision to raise fares was reached during a meeting of the Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) today, which consists of representatives from local administration and the government.

This fare adjustment follows a substantial surge of over three times in Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on fuel prices last month, resulting in prices soaring by around 50% compared to June. The escalation in costs prompted several cities to enact substantial fare increases in their public transportation systems.

The increases in fuel prices are part of broader tax and fee hikes enacted last month. After the elections in May, the government granted substantial raises to minimum wage, as well as salaries for civil servants and retirees, fulfilling its election promises. However, as these raises were followed by tax and fee hikes, inflation in the country has begun to surge once again. Official inflation figures for July rose by 10 percentage points compared to the previous month, reaching 47%.

In the wake of these adjustments, the new public transportation and taxi fares in İstanbul are as follows:

- Full electronic ticket price: Increased from 9.90 to 15 liras.
- Student electronic ticket: Increased from 4.83 to 7.32 liras.
- Teacher electronic ticket: Increased from 7.09 to 10.74 liras.
- Full monthly subscription fee: Increased from 777 to 1177 liras.
- Student monthly subscription fee: Increased from 140 to 212 liras.

Taxi fare adjustments include:

- Initial meter activation fee: Increased from 12.65 liras to 19.17 liras.
- Yellow taxi distance fee per kilometer: Increased from 8.51 liras to 13.75 liras.
- Yellow taxi time-based tariff: Increased from 100.80 liras to 152.73 liras per hour.
- Yellow taxi flag-down fee: Increased from 40 liras to 70 liras.

In the case of dolmuşes, or shared minibusses, the fee for the shortest distance has been raised from 7 to 12 Turkish liras, while the fee for students has increased from 5 to 8 Turkish liras.

Furthermore, school transportation fees have also been subject to increases. The fee for distances of 0-1 kilometers has been raised from 792 Turkish liras to 1300 liras. Additionally, personnel transportation fees for 10-17 seat minibusses have seen an increase from 422.40 Turkish liras to 640.02 liras.

Taxi drivers not content with hikes

The fare hike decision has not been met with universal approval. Eyüp Aksu, the President of the İstanbul Taxi Drivers Association, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the decision. He and fellow taxi drivers left the meeting, clearly stating their non-acceptance of the fare increase.

Aksu had previously proposed a 100% fare hike during discussions held last week, pointing to rising fuel prices and inflation. After exiting the meeting, Aksu told reporters, "We are turning off our meters; we do not accept this rate of increase." He added, "We will not be adjusting our meters. We reject this increase. Our citizens also find these increases insufficient."

Last week's UKOME meeting failed to reach a consensus, leading to no fare adjustment decision being made. While the opposition-led İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality proposed a 57% fare hike for public transportation, the İstanbul Taxi Drivers Association sought a 100% increase, and ministry representatives at UKOME suggested 40%, resulting in a deadlock. (HA/VK)