After the 40% increase in public transport in Istanbul, the taxi opening fee was 9.80 lira and the free hop-on hop-off fee was 28.00 lira. Eyüp Aksu, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Professionals, made a statement regarding the fare change, which has been in effect for 3 weeks. Aksu said that the increase made was not enough and that they wanted an increase in income as much as an increase in expenses. Talking about the fights between the passenger and the driver, Aksu said: “The number of complaints is not even 1%. We want our room to be cleared. If the taximeter costs, the hop-on hop-off fares improve, if an increase is made to the fare we want, the passenger’s complaint will also disappear. The taxi driver also does not refuse to go,” he said.
“EVEN A PASSENGER CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT TAXI, IF WE ARE AUTHORIZED”
Expressing that they carry nearly 1.5 million passengers daily, Aksu pointed out that they should also be allowed, adding, “We carry about 530 million passengers per year, and the number of complaints is 150,000, almost not even 1%. of Istanbul are our benefactor. The best service to our citizens. We must at least give complaints. We want complaints to happen, never. We have 52,000 employees and traffic in Istanbul is disrupted. We do not want to encounter such complaints. If we come across such complaints, the Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen has authority, the Metropolitan Municipality has authority, we pass it on there. Administrative and judicial proceedings are carried out on the condition that there is no extrajudicial execution. There are certainly penalties. , but we want both our government and our municipality to authorize our chamber of trades. We want both a power of control and of sanction. If these authorizations are given, not a single passenger will be able to complain about the taxi, even if they are given 3 months. We also assess the matter in dispute provided it is not an extrajudicial execution. We do it and we don’t let it go unpunished. A complaint resolution office will be set up, the complaining passenger and the complaining taxi driver will be listened to and penalties will be applied according to the crime listed in the penalty tables. There will be deterrent penalties and the driver who does so will certainly not dare to commit this crime,” he said.
“TIMES ARE NOT ENOUGH”
Stating that the increase achieved was not enough, Aksu said, “There has been no change in the number of passengers, but the work in the taxi business decreases a bit every Ramadan. Our expenses have increased by 100%, but our income has increased. increased by 40%. It’s not sufficient. The more we increase our expenses, the more our income will be the same. We want our tariff to improve proportionately,” he said.
“HIGH TIMES SOLVE THE SHORT DISTANCE PROBLEM”
Taxi drivers, meanwhile, pointed out that after the hikes, the number of domestic passengers had decreased, but the problem of short distance, which was the main reason for the fights, had been solved.
Sergen Cezveci said he had never argued with a passenger before: “Roads are congested, taxi drivers don’t want to go there, passengers want to turn in the opposite direction. Diesel doesn’t save because it is expensive, but now it has started to save with the new price increase. I think the price increases have solved the problem of short distances, we had no problem. “The opening was 10 lira, you go a little further, write 15-16 lira, receive 28 lira. It saves me,” he said.
“THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS HAS DROP BELOW 50 PER CENT”
Another taxi driver, Ayhan Baykara, said: “The number of passengers decreased after the treks, falling below 50%. Those who don’t need to take a taxi don’t take a taxi. People are walking now, they can’t give 30 lira, they don’t want to give it. The fight will not end. A new round will come for me in another hour and a half. If the men came and told Harbiye, would my hour and a half be 30 lira? It was cheap before, people could ride, we weren’t making a lot of money, but we were working, now there are no more passengers.”
“THE RESOLVED HIGHS THE SHORT DISTANCE BATTLE, BROUGHT US A HEAVY LOAD”
Taxi driver Ahmet Yılmaz said: “The locals don’t get along, it’s too heavy for them. The foreign tourist also encounters at most 1 per day. It was much better before the increase, and after the increase, the local citizens decreased and the car owners increased the car.” I think the distance fight has been resolved. We used to walk 5 kilometers for 30 lira, it was written that way, now the nearest distance is 30 lira. These hikes only solved the problem, but brought a heavy burden to us,” he said.