By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA

Istanbul is a fast-growing city, and so its taxi prices have to increase rapidly as well, taxi industry experts say.

Well, they would, wouldn't they? But there is, in fact, a recent development that is going to push up taxi prices in the city. There are already about 17,400 taxis on Istanbul’s roads, according to the Istanbul Chamber for Taxi Drivers.

Not that taxis in Istanbul are all that expensive by international standards. The taximeter starts at 3.20 Turkish liras ($2.40) in Istanbul and charges 2 liras ($0.90) per kilometer.

But those amounts are likely to increase as much as 20 percent, because the price of taxi license plates in Turkey's largest city in Istanbul has increased by 18 percent to 1.6 million Turkish liras ($683,000) over the past 12 months, Gursoy Atli, a trader in taxi license plates, told The Anadolu Agency. "Istanbul's growing, so demand for taxis is too," Atli said.

So is demand for taxi licenses.

"Demand for taxi licenses is increasing, because taxis are a very attractive investment," Atli explained. "Investors who buy houses or apartments do not get as much monthly income as can be had from a taxi in the provinces," he said. 

The government has taken effective action against unlicensed taxi drivers. This has made the value of a legal taxi increase markedly.

"The majority of investors come from high-income people, like footballers and doctors," Atli said. "The taxi plates used to pass from father to son. Now investors from various sectors evaluate the value of a licensed taxi. It has become an industry where both the state and the investors win."

Volkan Camur from taksiplakasi.com said the price increased to 1,650,000 Turkish liras ($705,000) in 2014 from 335,000 in 2004. Camur's web site trades at least 20 license plates a day. 

Camur said investor demand has grown, because it is an investment in real work permitted by Islam. "Islam does not permit its believers to receive interest on loans, so solid investments involving actual productivity are highly valued."

"Conservatives, religious organizations, people who have well-paying jobs -- all invested their money in licensed taxis," Camur said.

Camur said that monthly rental income from licensed taxis runs between 5500 to 6500 liras ($2300 to $2800), but it depends on which suburb the taxi operates in. Taxis in Levent, which is one of the main business districts of Istanbul, bring in more monthly income than those in other suburbs in Istanbul. 

A taxi driver can earn daily between 300- 600 liras ($130-260) in the provinces, Camur said.  

The Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers is working to make the city's taxis more appealing to consumers, Chamber head Yahya Ugur said.  "A taxi driver needs to gain confidence with driving ability and a good attitude in the taxi to customers. We are working on that. We are working with authorities to look more at drivers' criminal records, health status, etc.," Ugur added.   

Ugur advised customers to take taxis that have taximeters. "Make sure driver starts the journey with a taximeter and if you have any unexpected problem, report it to the authorities," Ugur said. 

All of this quality improvement may help customers accept the upcoming taxi fare increase. Consider it part of the price of living in such a fast-growing city. 

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