IMM discussed the problems of public transportation tradesmen in Istanbul, who are experiencing troubled times due to fuel price hikes. The tradesmen, who wanted an emergency SCT and VAT exemption from Ankara, decided to go to UKOME with a request for an additional increase of 50-65% in passenger fares.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) transportation bureaucrats; He met with the representatives of private public bus, minibus, minibus, sea and taxi drivers and evaluated the reflections of the recent increases in fuel oil on the sector.
At the meeting held at Yenikapı Kadir Topbaş Performance and Art Center under the chairmanship of IMM President Advisor Orhan Demir, IMM Deputy Secretary General for Transportation Pelin Alpkökin, IMM Transportation Department Head Utku Cihan, IETT General Manager Alper Bilgili, Metro Istanbul General Manager Özgür Soy, IMM Public Transportation Services Manager Barış Yıldırım and the managers of tradesmen associations took place.
EYUP AKSU: “WE WANT 65 PERCENT HIRE AND SCT EXEMPTION”
Eyüp Aksu, Chairman of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers' Chamber, who spoke at the meeting, said that there has been an increase in fuel oil all over the world due to the war, but that the tradesmen in Turkey have come to a point where they cannot subsidize these increases. Aksu pointed out that the price of diesel has increased rapidly towards 25 liras and said, “Together, all stakeholders in the transportation sector have to ask the general administration for exemption from SCT as of tomorrow.”
Expressing that they expect the same amount of hike from the local administration on the same day, Aksu said, “We have a demand for a minimum increase of 65 percent. It even connects to an automatic arrangement by talking to the general administration. For the past few weeks, I've been seeing a driver wanted message in commercial taxis. Drivers quit their job when they can't make money. The share of fuel in expenses has exceeded 50 percent,” he said.
GÖKSEL OVACIK: “OUR RIGHT TO SCT AND VAT REDUCTION”
Göksel Ovacık, President of the Istanbul Private Chamber of Public Bus Drivers, stated that 50 percent of their income goes to fuel and this puts the tradesmen in a very difficult situation.
“Since we carry passengers free of charge, we have a right to the end of SCT and VAT-free transportation. We transport 2 thousand of the 400 million passengers we carry in Istanbul free of charge. Every time we get a raise in fares, the number of our full-ticket passengers increases. We need to put a very strict control on this.”
EMİN ALAGÖZ: “AT THE STOPPING POINT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION”
Stating that they cannot compete because IETT has many discounted and free transfer lines, Istanbul Minibuses Chamber President Emin Alagöz said, “We have come to such a point that we are not in a position to make money even if you make a 100% raise. Considering the citizens, at least 50 percent should be done. It is necessary to reduce student transportation prices to hop-on-hop-off prices, because on some routes, students stay on the road. We will speak to the press and make our voices heard. Otherwise, transportation in Istanbul comes to a standstill.”
TURGAY GÜL: “OUR COST INCREASED 300 PERCENT”
Turgay Gül, President of the Istanbul Servicemen's Association, underlined that the servicemen have come to a point where they cannot provide service due to the hike in fuel prices, and said that they expect at least a 35 percent increase from UKOME. Stating that the cost of km has increased from 75 cents to 2.5 liras, Gül said, “We do not have the power to subsidize this system. Every morning when we open our office, tradesmen come and leave the business saying 'I can't do this job at this price'. The service shopkeepers have come to the stage of closing contacts and quitting their business," he said.
YUNUS CAN: “FUEL SHOULD BE INDEXED AUTOMATICALLY INCREASE”
Yunus Can, Chairman of the Board of TURYOL, who proposed an automatic fuel-indexed increase in the passenger transportation price, said that with the zeroing of the SCT costs at sea, their costs increased by 236 percent. Can said, “The increase in fuel prices in the last 3 months is 100 percent. An automatic increase should be introduced in transportation prices in parallel with the increase in fuel oil. There is no other way we can handle it. Otherwise, transportation will come to a complete stop,” he said.
ORHAN DEMİR: “WE WILL CARRY ALL REQUESTS TO UKOME”
Stating that he agreed with the evaluations, IMM President Advisor Orhan Demir said, “Due to the increase in diesel prices, we want to go to UKOME with a joint decision. Everyone's costs have increased at least 100 percent, people can't stand it. There is a fire right now and we have to talk about how we can put it out, what we can do in the short term," he said.
“You know the balances at UKOME. There, too, the persuasion mechanism needs to come into play," Demir said, adding that they will meet with the transportation tradesmen, the Governor's Office or the Ministries for the SCT reduction in fuel.
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