Istanbul municipality says hikes public transport prices by 35%

Istanbul’s municipality said it was hiking the price of public transport by 35% as of Monday to alleviate transport sector losses, in a move which will likely impact inflation, Reuters reports.

The price hike decision came after Istanbul’s Transportation Coordination Centre (UKOME) met representatives from the Istanbul Chamber of Tradesmen and Artisans (ISTESOB) on Thursday, the municipality said.

“In around three years since May 25, 2017 there have been no increases to public transportation ticket prices in Istanbul,” it said in a statement on its website. “Due to the hikes in oil prices, minimum wage, inflation and administrative costs, the costs of public transport rose around 43% in this time”.

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“We hope that this price hike, which was mandatory for the public transport services to continue without problems, will be met with understanding by Istanbulites.”

The decision by Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, will impact inflation because transport prices make up 15.62% of primary input items for national inflation figures. The price hikes will come into effect on Monday and will impact all bus, metro and ferry lines in the city.

Ahead of his election in June, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu had promised to reduce transport prices in the city.