Taxi drivers in Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport furious over fare rises

ISTANBUL

Some 600 taxi drivers at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport have objected to a newly introduced change on minimum fares for taxis, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Fury mounted after the Center for Transportation Coordination under the Istanbul Municipality decided to increase the minimum fare for taxis to 8.75 Turkish Liras for travelers commuting as far as 2.5 kilometers causing drivers to protest the changes. The drivers refuse to pay for the taximeter’s alteration expenses, which would cost 195 liras for every car. 

The head of the Taxi Drivers Cooperative at Atatürk International Airport, Fahrettin Can, said the implementation was only creating confusions. 

“This is unfair on taxi drivers. Drivers cannot even earn money. This implementation was made only to benefit the people who are making these taximeters. They are charging 195 Turkish liras for each device just for alterations. We paid this amount of money four months ago after a 2.5 percent increase was implemented. We have to carry at least 300 to 400 passengers to cover these costs,” he said.   

Can said they refused to change the settings of their taximeters as a way to protest, adding that they would take their demands to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We will not accept this decision, we are protesting it. From now on, we will voice our concerns to the President and Prime Minister, not the municipality,” he added. 

He said that passengers often argued with drivers over the constant change in fares, noting that one of their colleagues was recently punched by a passenger who accused the driver of fobbing.