Electric scooters draw angry reaction of taxi drivers

Emre Eser - ISTANBUL

The taxi drivers in Istanbul, who forced the banning of ride-share application Uber, now target Martı, a Turkish rental scooter application.

Some taxi drivers claim on the social media that the electric scooters are extremely dangerous and occupy the roads, while others complain that the owners of Martı application do not make a similar payment while the cab owners paid license fees.

Martı paid taxes for all kinds of transactions, the company said in a statement to daily Hürriyet.

“Our target is to spread the sharing economy to every segment of society. The company currently employs 450 people and our goal is to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable system in transportation,” it said.

Meanwhile, after an 18-year-old high school student who was using an electric scooter died in a traffic accident in Istanbul on Feb. 25, the discussions that sparked on social media reached the Turkish Parliament.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Gürsel Tekin submitted a written questionnaire, asking the Interior Ministry if the system is inspected and the measures are taken to ensure the riders’ safety.