19.06.2026 18:41
İstanbul Taxi Drivers' Chamber President İsmet Dalcı, explaining the digital transformation they will undertake regarding the future of taxi services, said, 'We prioritize digitalization. We had a taxi system program written, called the Singapore model taxi system. We are currently in the testing phase. God willing, within a month at most, we will launch and introduce it. We will adapt a fully digital system to Istanbulites, where you can rate a taxi even if you are riding from the street.'
İsmet Dalcı, President of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers Chamber of Tradesmen, made a press statement and shared with the public the problems in the taxi sector in Istanbul and the innovations to be made in the new period.
Dalcı stated that the sector can now only be strengthened through renewal, not just by preserving the existing structure. Emphasizing that the priority of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers Chamber of Tradesmen in the new period is customer satisfaction, service quality, digitalization, and strengthening inspection mechanisms, Dalcı also announced new projects to be implemented in this context. He expressed that through the 'SARI HAT' WhatsApp communication line, citizens' suggestions, satisfaction, demands, and complaints are directly received, thus establishing stronger communication with passengers.
"NOTHING WILL BE AS BEFORE" İsmet Dalcı, President of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers Chamber of Tradesmen, said, "The taxi system will now take on a more corporate, customer satisfaction-oriented structure that increases service quality. Recently, as you know, whether it's the taxi complaint in the incident of an American artist or the complaint of a Russian artist or social media influencer; as the chamber of tradesmen, we did not sweep these incidents under the rug like before. We ourselves filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office against the driver involved. We stood by our customers, saying no one can defame the reputation of our profession."
"WE RECEIVE FEEDBACK FROM QR CODE PHONE NUMBER" Dalcı said, "Nothing will be as before anymore. The system will completely change. To satisfy customers, we activated an application called 'Yellow Line'. There are very good feedbacks. In fact, other provinces are now taking us as a role model and trying to implement this application themselves. We are sticking a QR-coded WhatsApp phone number inside all commercial taxis in Istanbul. We receive feedback through this. Our target response time for these feedbacks is 5 minutes. Within 5 minutes, we get back to our customer, and whether it's a lost item, a complaint, or a positive opinion, we evaluate it, and there are very good responses. Our customers say they didn't expect this process to be so fast. This pleases us and motivates us even more."
"WE REACT INSTANTLY AND REMOVE FROM THE SYSTEM" Dalcı said, "Alongside this, we conduct field inspections. I warn the driver colleagues there: Friends, you have two options; either you do your job well, or you can no longer be taxi drivers. Nothing will be as before; we react instantly, give our response, and remove them from the system. They have now understood that this is serious. They are straightening themselves out. As for those who do not, we provide immediate feedback."
"WE ARE TRANSITIONING TO THE SINGAPORE MODEL IN TAXI" İsmet Dalcı, President of the Istanbul Taxi Drivers Chamber of Tradesmen, said, "We value digitalization. As you know, there are taxi-hailing applications in Istanbul. These applications charge very high commissions from our customers and taxi drivers. I think this is not fair. I am someone who believes we should do things ourselves. In this regard, we had a taxi program written called the Singapore model taxi system. We are currently in the testing phase. God willing, within a month at most, we will launch and promote it. We will adapt a fully digitalized system to Istanbulites, where you can also rate a taxi even if you hail it from the street. Let me also talk about the Singapore model taxi system; taxi efficiency in Istanbul is very low; we operate with 48% efficiency. We will announce and promote this. There is also very good reception from taxi tradesmen. They want the application to be launched and used in the field as soon as possible. They have set up the system. The main organizing body here will be the chamber. We will see and keep all trip data. We need to regulate the system. Currently, when you get into a taxi in Istanbul, if the taximeter shows 300 liras via apps like Uber and BiTaksi, you pay an extra fee of up to 120 liras. You end up paying 420 liras. This is neither legally correct nor fair. You are buying the service you should normally get at a higher price. At the same time, these applications charge commissions ranging from 12% to 25% from taxi tradesmen. This is also not fair. As taxi tradesmen, we have currently become sub-contractors. We need to digitalize all trips."
"WE MADE A PROTOTYPE OF A TRANSPARENT SYSTEM FOR SAFETY" Dalcı said, "Everything needs to be recorded. When you board, you are in a position to give comments and ratings via the QR code in the application. We placed a WhatsApp icon in the application. When you tap on it, you can instantly communicate with our WhatsApp Yellow Line. There are 20,311 commercial taxis in Istanbul. Currently, 20,311 taxis actively use both Uber and BiTaksi. Taxis are digitalized. This is your point of contact. We provide very fast feedback. For the safety of our driver colleagues, we had a prototype made of a transparent system that completely closes the rear area, as attacks, resistance, and beatings generally come from behind. We will test it in a vehicle, then move to mass production."
"TAXI PLATE IS AROUND 12 MILLION LIRA" Also mentioning the installation of charging units for electric vehicles at taxi stands, Dalcı said, "If we install electric charging units at taxi stands, the price will be very affordable. We can provide service to Istanbulites without charging taximeter fees and become a role model in the world. Let our taxis be electric and comfortable. Let's introduce a uniform model for drivers. Let's standardize roof lights. Look at the plate value in Turkey over the last 10 years. If evaluated as a commodity, the only thing losing value in Istanbul is the taxi plate value. The presence of illegal applications in taxi services affects this. Currently, the taxi plate is around 12 million lira, and when viewed in dollar terms, there is significant erosion."