Build-and-Leave, Let the Citizens Use It to Their Heart's Content

Oh, what a relief!

I am doing quite a bit of traveling for the “Memory Record of Turkish Engineering” project in the eastern basin of the beautiful Marmara region, going back and forth between Eskişehir, Yalova, and Istanbul these days.

During my travels, I frequently use Build-Operate-Transfer projects such as the Osmangazi Bridge, the Northern Marmara Motorway, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, and the Eurasia Tunnel.

Of course, I also use the bridges built during the Demirel and Özal eras, which were essentially “Build-and-Leave, Let the Citizens Use It to Their Heart's Content” projects.

For these Build-Operate-Transfer road and bridge tolls, which were once constantly on the country's agenda, people used to say, “Like the bridge of Deli Dumrul, which took a fee from those who crossed and those who didn't, they are charging both those who use it and those who don't.”

They used to say that because of the astronomical fees, few vehicles were crossing the bridges, the guaranteed vehicle numbers were not being met, and the state was paying the difference.

Now, these bridge and road tolls have reached the level of the price of tea and coffee.

However, even this level is still not cheap for me.

I can't say I'm used to it; let's see the January salary raise, maybe I'll get used to it then.

To reduce my travel expenses a bit, would it be appropriate to ask for an HGS subscription card from Mr. Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who is both a senior colleague in my profession, a senior from the Karadeniz Technical University Civil Engineering Department, and a fellow countryman?

After all, we will also be recording the Minister's memory.

Let this sentence stay here; you never know, our wish might be granted.

Let's return to our topic, so that our end does not resemble the fate of the young girl in the “frog tale,” who teaches us to keep in the back of our minds that our wishes can have negative consequences just as they can have positive ones.

It wasn't long ago, just last year, that the bridge toll was nearly the cost of half a tank of gas; now it has dropped to nearly one-tenth of the cost of a tank.

It has become the same as the price of 2-3 coffees at roadside facilities, although I have not yet had the honor of drinking coffee on the road.

It is still expensive for me.

I set off by filling my tea thermos either from home or from a famous roadside meatball restaurant.

Thanks to my new route, I don't slalom between trucks on the high ramps of Dilovası and Hereke while going from Eskişehir to Istanbul.

I don't struggle to pass the trucks I left behind again after a bathroom break.

Like a gentleman, I connect to the Northern Marmara Motorway via the Osmangazi Bridge and go wherever I want from the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge easily, without getting stuck in traffic.

The price hike that was made recently and made my heart skip a beat was, thank God, postponed until the new year by the President.

Even if the postponement makes us happy for now, it is not enough, Mr. President.

My request is that there be NO PRICE HIKES on these bridges and roads, which are the necklaces of our country, at the beginning of the year.

I am not expecting a discount either, but just when the number of vehicles using these bridges has well exceeded the guaranteed numbers and we have all gotten used to this comfort, a PRICE HIKE would ruin our mental health, Mr. President.

Do not raise prices, let us use these roads and bridges comfortably.

Let us not look at toll roads from afar as we used to and struggle in E-5 traffic.

Instead of “Using Little and Paying Much” for toll bridges and roads, let us “Use Much and Pay Little.”

Let us also cross these bridges, where the world average is between 8-12 dollars, at reasonable prices so that we can save both time and money in comfort.

Prof. Dr. Gökhan Arslan