Izmir Metropolitan Municipality announced Wednesday an increased fee for public transportation as the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) signaled a hike for the mass transit pass.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality decided to increase public transportation fares by 38% during the meeting of the transport watchdog Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME). In line with the decision taken by the majority of votes, with the completion of the approval process, the first boarding price for public vehicles, which is currently TL 4.7, will be TL 6.50 as of March 20.
In addition, the decision was made to increase the public transportation prices according to the average of the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer prices index (CPI) every month. Minibus prices in Izmir have also increased by 50% and hit TL 7.5 for minimum fares.
Meanwhile, the IBB is preparing to hike fees for its Istanbulkart, the city’s electronic mass transit pass that covers all means of public transport – from buses and subways to ferries operating between the two sides of the Bosporus – citing skyrocketing fuel prices.
Public transport tradespeople's chambers, the general manager of the Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel (IETT) and Metro Istanbul's general manager reportedly gathered in Istanbul's coastal neighborhood of Yenikapı for a meeting chaired by the IBB, where they decided to increase mass transit fees by 50% to 65%.
The UKOME will evaluate the IBB's request at a meeting in the next few days and make the final decision.
The municipality had slapped increases in electronic pass fees, but it has also increased the electronic mass transit pass fees by 111% within a year. The IBB announced a 92% fee increase for some types of passes in February and now charges nearly TL 5.50 for trips in a single vehicle, without connections to other means of mass transit, like from Metrobuses to inner-city trains. It also charges TL 11 for a single-use pass, particularly popular among tourists and new arrivals to the city.
Fees to renew passes for people who benefit from discounted fares, from senior citizens to students, were also increased by 36.2% in December 2021. The "indirimli" (discounted) card renewal fee was increased to TL 35 from TL 20.
BELBIM, the municipality’s company that supplies the electronic passes, said in a written statement that card production costs rose around TL 35, "parallel to the global chip crisis and fluctuations in foreign currencies."
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB), which increased public transportation fees on Jan. 5, had announced earlier in February that increases in costs have already pushed the municipality to cover one-third of costs per passenger.
Noting that if a cost increase of 182% in the past three years was reflected in the ticket prices, the ABB had said that the full ticket would be TL 9.17, and the discount ticket would be TL 4.94 today. Moreover, the ABB said the cost per passenger stood at TL 6.50, while discount fares were TL 4.50.
"We regret to express that amid the ongoing cost increases, we may have to readjust our ticket prices," the municipality had said in a statement.
Since the ABB's statement, diesel prices have increased from TL 17 to TL 25.
As of tonight, an increase of TL 2.25 for diesel and TL 0.79 for gasoline is also expected. After the price hikes, the average liter price of diesel is expected to rise to nearly TL 25.10 in Istanbul and TL 25.20 in Ankara and Izmir, while it was around TL 12 in December 2021. The price of normal gasoline is expected to rise to TL 21.10 in Istanbul, TL 22.20 in Ankara and TL 22.30 in Izmir per liter.
Amid a global turmoil in energy prices over the Russian invasion in Ukraine and related sanctions affecting oil and gas supplies, Wednesday's increase marks a rise in fuel prices in Turkey for seven days in a row. Due to its energy dependence and exchange rate volatility, Turkey is affected even more by global prices.
