Mayor takes town’s pulse on taxi ride

KONYA - Anadolu Agency

The mayor of Meram, a district of Konya province in Turkey’s heartland Anatolia, has given taxi rides to the town’s residents to listen to their complaints and suggestions. 

Mustafa Kavuş took a seat behind the wheel for three hours to transport people across the town, which has a population around 350,000.

Kavuş, who is 46 years old, was elected to the post in the March 2019 local elections. 

“It was a pleasant day…It was a good opportunity to converse with the people of Meram,” Kavuş said. 

He noted that he would continue to do it to have close contact with the locals. 

“We are looking forward to creating an opportunity for the mayor of the metropolitan municipality and the governor of Konya to ride on the taxi and chat with people,” Kavuş added.

The mayor of Meram recalled some interesting moments during the taxi ride. 

“Some people recognized me. They knew who I was. But some others did not. They were very surprised when I introduced myself as the mayor of the town. Some people even insisted on paying the fare. Their reaction was rather interesting, which put a smile on my face. After all, it was a very nice day”,” he said.