17.05.2025 20:10
Göksel Ovacık, the President of the Istanbul Private Public Buses Tradesmen's Chamber, stated that the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has not made its payments and announced that the buses will not operate starting from May 22. Ovacık emphasized that the tradesmen are facing difficulties with salary payments and fuel purchases.
The President of the Istanbul Private Public Buses Tradesmen's Chamber, Göksel Ovacık, announced that they will not be able to work starting from May 22 due to not receiving payments from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
STRIKE DECISION FROM PUBLIC BUS DRIVERS IN ISTANBUL
The public bus crisis in Istanbul has escalated. Drivers who have not received payment for 4 months have decided to go on strike. Göksel Ovacık, the President of the Istanbul Private Public Buses Tradesmen's Chamber, stated in his announcement that they will stop operations starting from May 22.
"WE SPENT THE 4TH MONTH WITHOUT RECEIVING PAYMENT"
Ovacık said in his statement: "As you know, we spent the 4th month without receiving payment. We were given a commitment. It was said that 500 million would be paid on the 15th of the month. However, when we reached May 15, this amount was not paid. They informed us that such an amount could not be paid based on our discussions.
THEY WILL STOP OPERATIONS STARTING FROM THURSDAY
With the money we received in April, this business cannot continue; both our tradesmen and we say that the knife has reached the bone. We told our friends that we need to draw a roadmap. We gathered everyone's opinions. Unfortunately, we have decided that we cannot operate under these conditions. Starting from Thursday, we will not be able to work because our vehicles cannot receive fuel, and we cannot pay our staff's salaries.
"THE POINT WE HAVE REACHED IS NOT OUR FAULT"
It will affect 3,041 vehicles. Let us say in advance that we do not want the people of Istanbul to suffer. However, the point we have reached, the situation we are in, is not our fault. Due to the non-payment of these funds, we will inevitably be out of rotation. When we receive a payment from the municipality, we will evaluate the process. This is a very important situation. The attitude the municipality shows us will determine our path. We must manage this process correctly."