At the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) meeting, the discussion of the proposal, which includes an increase in electronic ticket prices used in public transportation, minibus and shuttle transportation fees, was postponed to the next meeting.
The UKOME meeting was held at 1453 Çırpıcı Social Facility under the chairmanship of IMM Secretary General Can Akın Çağlar. A 25 percent increase in transportation fees was requested by the Public Transportation Services Directorate (TUHİM) due to reasons such as inflation, fuel expenses, and the increase in the minimum wage.
Istanbul taxi drivers demanded a 60 percent raise
Eyup Aksu, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Taximen and Tradesmen (ITEO), thanked the offer to raise all transportation vehicles at the same rate and in the same period, and argued that a 60 percent increase should be made in the prices of minibuses, shuttles, taxis and private public buses due to the increasing costs. Aksu stated that they demanded a rise in the rate of 33 percent for today, and then every 6 months in the WPI-CPI ratio.
IMM Deputy Secretary General Orhan Demir emphasized that the 25 percent increase offer was necessary to save the day, and said that prices could be re-evaluated in the future.
Referred to subcommittee
At the meeting, the IMM proposal, which includes a 25 percent increase in public transportation, taxi, minibus and service fees in Istanbul, was discussed. IMM Public Transportation Services Manager Barış Yıldırım pointed out that there has been an increase of around 30 percent in fuel, minimum wage and maintenance expenses in Istanbul since July, and said that they proposed a 25 percent increase in all public transportation vehicles, taking into account the economic situation of the citizens. Yıldırım said that this is an offer at the lowest limit.
IETT General Manager Alper Bilgili also stated that there has been a 40 percent increase in foreign currency and a 35 percent increase in fuel in recent months and that IETT expenses have been greatly affected by foreign exchange, and said that the last 1 lira fuel increase reflected on IETT as an additional cost of 600 thousand liras per day. Bilgili noted that even if they do not want to, it is necessary to make a raise for the continuation of the service.
Expressing that he experienced very serious income losses during the pandemic period, Ozgur Soy, General Manager of Metro Istanbul AŞ, said that a 25 percent increase would be the lifeline. City Lines General Manager Sinem Dedetaş said that after the last fuel tender, fuel expenses increased by 100 percent and that a raise was absolutely necessary for the continuation of sea transportation.
IMM Deputy Secretary General for Transportation Orhan Demir stated that companies could not even bid for IMM's tenders because there is uncertainty in foreign exchange and the market, and underlined that the offered offer is the minimum price to save the situation.
Serdar Yücel, the 1st Regional Director of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that the proposal for a raise came at the last minute, and that the issue should be discussed first by bringing it to the subcommittee and voted on at the meeting in December.
Yücel, expressing that he finds the offer to raise in its current form, stated that he will vote "no". In the voting held after the negotiations, it was unanimously accepted that the proposal, which included a 25 percent increase in the prices of all transportation vehicles, was withdrawn and transferred to the subcommittee.
IMM Secretary General Can Akın Çağlar noted that they will hold the UKOME meeting again as soon as possible after the work.
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