Proposal to increase number of cabs in Istanbul rejected once again

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's proposal to roll out 6,000 new taxi licenses has been rejected once again by the decision of the city's transportation coordination body.

The proposal of the municipality was put on the agenda for the third time at the Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) meeting held at the Istanbul Congress Center on Nov. 26.

The meeting was attended by members of the municipality, the Istanbul Governor's Office, and representatives from various ministries and public institutions.

Before the meeting, a discussion between Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and a group of taxi drivers occurred.

A group of taxi drivers, who claimed that they could not attend the meeting, wanted to meet with İmamoğlu at the entrance of the hall where the meeting was held.

Some officials opposed the live broadcast of the meeting, saying it should be held behind closed doors, but İmamoğlu rejected the criticisms and told them that they are free to leave if they do not want to be filmed.

More than 100,000 people watched the meeting on social media, an unprecedented viewing as municipal meetings usually happen behind closed doors.

During the meeting, Eyüp Aksu, the head of a Taxi Drivers' Association, said the municipality ignored drivers' view of the plan and criticized the municipality.

Noting that the taxi license owners are uneasy about the plan, Aksu stated that the institution that should evaluate the training and complaints about the taxi drivers is the municipality.

Nurdan Apaydın, a director of Marmaray, an underground railway system connecting the city's European and Asian sides under the Bosporus Strait, said that taxis in Istanbul operate with 39...