27.06.2026 14:52
The court has issued its decision in the unfair competition lawsuit filed by the Istanbul Taxi Drivers' Chamber against Martı TAG. While taxi drivers interpreted the ruling as a "victory" and argued that the application would be shut down, Oğuz Alper Öktem, the owner of Martı TAG, stated that the injunction request was rejected, announced that they would take the case to the appeals court, and affirmed they would continue their fight.
The Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan experienced one of its extraordinary days. A verdict was reached in the Martı TAG case filed by taxi drivers.
The Istanbul 14th Commercial Court of First Instance in Çağlayan continued hearing the case filed by the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers (İTEO) against the Martı TAG service on charges of "unfair competition."
Before the hearing, the parties' calls resonated. Taxi drivers came to Çağlayan not only from Istanbul but from all corners of the country for the hearing. After a photo of a taxi driver group with baseball bats surfaced on social media, İTEO President İsmet Dalcı issued a call. Warning "Don't fall for provocation," Dalcı said, "We are a legal, official, and rightful trade organization. We will come to Çağlayan with decency and leave the area with decency. Our state is always with us."
A large number of riot police teams took precautions at various points between representatives of green-hatted "ride-sharing applications" and yellow-hatted taxi drivers. TOMAs (water cannon vehicles) were deployed.
COURT REACHED A VERDICT At the end of the hearing, the court ruled that the Martı TAG service constituted unfair competition. According to the verdict reached in the 7th hearing of the case, a ban was imposed on the presentation of the Martı TAG and TAG driver services' website and mobile application on any platform and on the execution of advertising activities. It was stated that this prohibition order issued by the Istanbul 14th Commercial Court of First Instance is open to appeal.
"ISSUED A CLOSURE ORDER" In a statement in front of the courthouse, Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers President İsmet Dalcı said, "It has been confirmed that Martı TAG engaged in unfair competition and illegal taxi services." Dalcı stated the following:
"There was a case between taxi drivers and the illegal application Martı TAG at the Çağlayan Courthouse. The court panel issued the final decision. It confirmed that the illegal application Martı TAG engaged in unfair competition and illegal taxi services. It issued a closure order. The taxi drivers won. As taxi drivers, our righteousness has always been declared in court and in expert reports. Thank God we won. Today, our tradesmen from all over Turkey came here. Thousands of tradesmen at the Çağlayan Courthouse welcomed this decision with enthusiasm. From here, I thank everyone who contributed. We achieved a good result. It will be better from now on. As taxi drivers, we will do our job better. Customer satisfaction is very valuable to us. Our customers will definitely no longer prefer illegal applications. Yes, the court has now issued a final closure order. After the reasoned decision is written, a letter will be sent to the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), and a precaution will be implemented. After that, the process will be complete.
"TRYING TO CHANGE ITS NAME" Martı is trying to change its name with a new application called 'Operator.' The court hopefully will absolutely not allow this. The right and law of legal taxi drivers will no longer be usurped. Yesterday, Oğuz Alper Öktem was shooting a video on social media. He said, 'We were doing such a good thing for five years. Now where did İsmet Dalcı come from, causing such developments?' We undertook to protect the rights and law of our tradesmen. Thank God we have been successful in Istanbul and Turkey in just four months. The tradesmen here welcomed us warmly. Look, the court ended hours ago. Everyone is trying to stand by us. May God be pleased with all of them. We will do our best not to let the tradesmen down."
OĞUZ ALPER ÖKTEM: THEY CANNOT INTIMIDATE US Oğuz Alper Öktem, the owner of the Martı TAG application, said, "The opposing party requested a precaution to halt the application. The judge rejected this precaution. As you know, they file dozens of lawsuits to intimidate us, but they cannot intimidate us. This case will go to the appeals court; we will continue our full struggle with faith in the law. There is a process ahead that will last for years. Congratulations, everyone continue with their cars and steering wheels."