New decision on free travel rights! Authority for municipalities has changed

Duties and authorities regarding income support payments made to municipalities for citizens benefiting from free travel rights have been reorganized. With the regulation published in the Official Gazette dated August 22, 2026, some duties in this area were transferred from the Ministry of Family and Social Services to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.

The new regulation changes the distribution of authority in the process of preparing and evaluating municipalities' income support requests. Accordingly, it is stipulated that the summary tables regarding the municipalities' requests shall be prepared by the General Directorate within 10 business days.

Provisions regarding some duties of provincial directorates were also repealed by the regulation. It was stated that the changes will be applied effective from May 1, 2026.

The Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Minister of Treasury and Finance will be jointly responsible for the implementation of the regulation.

News Source: 12punto