To reduce traffic congestion in Istanbul, entry to two districts will be made subject to a fee.

New measures are being worked on to reduce traffic congestion in Istanbul. Proposals are coming in for the implementation of a paid entry system at certain points to solve the increasing traffic problem in the megacity.

While the applications prepared within the scope of the Istanbul Sustainable Urban Transportation Plan (ISUTP) are being implemented, it is proposed that vehicle owners pay an entry fee for certain areas as part of the Traffic Congestion Pricing plan.

THE PLAN WILL FIRST BE IMPLEMENTED IN EMİNONÜ

If the plan is put into effect, the pilot area will be Eminönü. Kadıköy will also be included in the pilot area. Later, the new application will expand towards densely populated areas. Eminönü, chosen as the pilot application, will be included in the system in an area of approximately 6 square kilometers. Following that, the Moda district of Kadıköy will participate in the application.

NOT ALL VEHICLES WILL HAVE THE SAME FEE

With the Low Emission Zones (LEZ) application, extra fees will be charged for vehicles that cause more harm to the environment. Environmentally friendly vehicles will benefit from the low tariff advantage.

ISTANBULITES LOSE 104 HOURS IN TRAFFIC EACH YEAR

Istanbul ranks 65th in the global traffic congestion ranking. The annual time lost in traffic in the city is determined to be 104 hours.

The paid vehicle entry application for certain areas is used worldwide. Cities such as London, New York, Stockholm, Milan, and Singapore are among those that successfully implement this system.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN HAD ALSO MENTIONED THE PROJECT

In a statement made on March 23, 2023, President Erdoğan addressed the issue, emphasizing that entries to Istanbul should be subject to a visa. Erdoğan stated, "There is no city that is not threatened by earthquakes, but I do not find it right to engage in disaster mongering. This would put the people living in those cities under threat regarding their ability to live there. I had a thesis about making entry to Istanbul subject to a visa; not everyone should be able to enter easily, there should be a cost. You cannot enter London; it has certain rules. What is the reason for this? It is traffic. There are bans related to vehicle parking there. The population in Istanbul was 8 million. It has now exceeded 15 million. And of course, in terms of planning, Istanbul has unfortunately not been planned as it should have been, nor has it been implemented. No one adheres to those plans. We have had a claim until now. We said urban transformation. The opposition started to define urban transformation as rent transformation. The job of collecting rent belongs to the opposition. They do this well." he had stated.