Police teams inspect taxi drivers in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Inspections on taxi drivers in Istanbul’s historical peninsula, which lies south of the Golden Horn and is the most touristic area of the city, have been conducted by the Istanbul Municipality with its civilian municipal police teams.

The inspections were carried out in Vezneciler, Yenikapı, Beyazıt, Taksim, Sirkeci and Eminönü, which are highly crowded areas, according to the information given by Murat Ongun, the municipality’s spokesperson.

Some 10 taxi drivers who refused to accept passengers for short-distance trips were fined 392 Turkish Liras ($52).

Apart from the fines, the drivers’ licenses were also suspended for 20 days.

Frequent complaints by both locals and foreign visitors regarding the attitude of the cab drivers have been made from time to time. Drivers preferring foreign tourists over the locals, and their behaviors, which has been described from reckless to rude, are the most common complaints made by the people.

The municipality has been working on increasing the number of taxi licenses and introducing new regulations for taxi drivers to curb the situation.