ISTANBUL, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- In Turkey's largest city Istanbul, which is also a cultural hub attracts millions of tourists each year, growing complaints about taxi scams have prompted the city authorities to fight against the problem.
The Istanbul Municipality has recently decided to equip the taxis with internal and external cameras as complaints about rude behaviors, scams, and reckless driving are piling up.
The latest resolution will initially cover some 15,000 taxis, out of more than 17,000, to prevent the unpleasant experiences of passengers.
The taxi problem is acute in touristic areas in the historic neighborhoods of downtown Istanbul, said Fatih Altayli, a well-known columnist, noting that drivers cheat foreign visitors some time, especially those from oil-rich Gulf nations, who are believed to have more money to spend.
Yellow cab drivers are also accused of overcharging tourists, choosing foreigners over Turkish customers, and refusing short-distance rides in the city spread over Asia and Europe.
Some drivers failed to comply with the COVID-19 measures despite the police tightened its surveillance.
"I was refused too many times by taxi drivers who said the trip is too short or they do not know the route," Ayse Guven, an Istanbul businesswoman, told Xinhua.
"Istanbul's taxi problem is getting worse every year. It is difficult to find one taxi, and often drivers are rude or try to scam the customer by choosing longer routes rather than shortcuts," she said.
When the passengers, especially foreigners, do not know the way to the destination, taxi drivers can easily make a detour around the city and spice up the bill.
Meanwhile, the number of taxis in Istanbul has stagnated since the early 1990s, but the metropolis' population still grew over the years, aggravating the taxi problem.
The municipality is seeking to increase the number of taxis. But this effort meets opposition among taxi associations who argue it is better to improve the conditions of vehicles than increasing their numbers, which would cause a drop of the drivers' income.
"Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, my income had dropped by half in the past 18 months," Alparslan Saglam, a taxi driver, told Xinhua. "Having more taxis on the roads would mean more competition and less money in my pocket."
While complaints are accumulating about taxi drivers, most of them are fair, Altayli noted. Enditem