Istanbul residents' struggle with taxis continues
Plainclothes traffic police conducted a taxi inspection in Eminönü, Istanbul. During the inspection, police teams assisted a family waiting for a taxi by placing them into a cab that had been stopped for inspection.
İHA
Teams from the Istanbul Police Department's Traffic Inspection Branch, Civil Traffic Teams Bureau, continued their inspections of taxis.
During the inspection carried out in Eminönü, 4 drivers who were not wearing seatbelts were fined 436 liras each, 3 drivers who were talking on their phones while driving were fined 951 liras each, and 1 driver who did not comply with traffic signs was fined 436 liras.
A family with a child who was having trouble finding a taxi was placed into a commercial taxi stopped at the inspection point by police teams, while a taxi driver who was fined during the inspection gave a humorous response of 'Ten out of ten' to the reporter's question.
"THEY WON'T TAKE TURKISH CITIZENS"
Fatma Yiğit, who was struggling to get a taxi with her family, said, “We have been miserable here with a child for an hour. We want to go to Bağcılar. They say, ‘There is a taxi up ahead, take that one.’ They say, ‘There is a taxi stand, go there.’ They say, ‘We are full.’ Even though they are empty, they won't take us.
This is the second time this has happened to us this week. They won't let us in; it would be good if the police conducted inspections. Let them help us. They won't take Turkish citizens. They took a tourist right in front of our eyes. They got in, we couldn't,” she said.
A taxi driver who was talking on his phone while driving said, “I am talking to my boss on the phone. The boss will pay the fine.” Another driver said he was talking on the phone to get location information from a customer.
Meanwhile, it was learned that the inspections will continue in the coming days.