Martı announced its new platform called TAG, which aims to spread the sharing economy culture and environmental awareness. Thereupon, discussions took the dimension of a fight between Eyüp Aksu, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers and TŞOF Istanbul UKOME Representative, and Oğuz Alper Öktem, the CEO of Martı. Here are the details…
Tension between the CEO of Martı and the President of the Taxi Drivers Chamber of Tradesmen! Who is right?
Launched by Martı, the new application known as TAG or “Let’s Go With One Vehicle” enables car sharing while going somewhere. For example, if you become a TAG Driver, you can take Martı users traveling on the same route to your vehicle for the agreed price, and travel with more than one person.
In this way, you will both contribute to the reduction of traffic and save on fuel costs. Because, according to the data shared by TUIK last March, nearly 250 thousand vehicles have been added to Istanbul traffic in the last 1 year. The total number reached 4 million 688.
Martı announced its new service! How is TAG used?
What is TAG, which was put into service by Martı without any commercial purpose or profit, and how is it used?
This returns as many negative factors, from traffic to air pollution. However, even if this number decreases by only one third in the coming years, it is calculated that the traffic density will decrease by 70 percent and the parking lot density by 95 percent.
Martı’s new TAG application aims to take a step in this area. In fact, the company states that it does not generate income from this new application, that is, it does not pursue a commercial purpose. However, according to Eyüp Aksu, Chairman of the Istanbul Taxi Chamber of Craftsmen, this platform will pave the way for pirate taxis.
A harsh response from the CEO of Martı to the President of the Taxi Drivers’ Chamber!
Oğuz Alper Öktem shared a video in which he explained that Eyüp Aksu, President of the Taxi Drivers’ Chamber, threatened him and his family.
Due to this issue, a big discussion broke out on social media between Eyüp Aksu and Oğuz Alper Öktem. In fact, Öktem even shared a video in which Aksu announced that he was threatening himself and his family. Aksu, on the other hand, stated in the television programs he participated in that this practice was not a souvenir transport, but a pirate taxi.
Thereupon, Martı CEO Oğuz Alper Öktem said:
Eyüp Aksu distorts the issue on @halktvcomtr’s live broadcast and makes fun of the minds of Istanbulites. I will give him the necessary answer with a video here soon. Martı TAG is not pirate transportation, the transportation of sake is not pirated, if it were left to Eyüp Aksu, people would not be able to get on the same car to visit with their spouses. I will give him my answer with statistics.
The numbers say something very clear. ISTANBUL is not behind you @eyupaksu24. TAG solves the problem you created. Do not think that the citizen is behind you, do not talk as if I have a very large audience. You can read the clear version of the figures I explained in the video here and improve yourself. We are behind you from Istanbul, which you crushed, says MartıTAG!
The video shared by Oğuz Alper Öktem also included the results of the research conducted by Ipsos. Here, we see that citizens were asked about the transportation problems experienced in daily life between November 2021 and October 2022.
In this study conducted in Istanbul, 39 percent of the participants aged 35-44, 36 percent between the ages of 45-60, 16 percent between the ages of 15-24 and 9 percent between the ages of 25-34. consists of men.
Considering the most important problems experienced in taxis;
- Dislike distance – 76 percent
- Unfair gain by choosing and extending a long route – 54 percent
- Driver’s attitude towards the customer – 53 percent
- Separation – 46 percent
- Driver complaining about traffic, yelling and swearing on the road – 43 percent
In addition, we see that the rate of taxi use among the people participating in the survey is 68 percent, and 84 percent of these people say that they have difficulty in finding a taxi. Therefore, the non-profit Martı TAG and similar platforms can help solve problems in both traffic and taxi finding, if they do not turn into opportunities for pirate taxis as feared.
Of course, this does not change the fact that Istanbul needs a taxi. Because research also reveals results in this direction. So much so that no new license plates have been issued in Istanbul since 1990. In other words, the number of taxi license plates for 32 years is 17 thousand 395. However, while the city had a population of 7 million, this number has reached 20 million today.
In addition, IMM wants to drive 5 thousand new taxis that it will own, pay and inspect its drivers. However, this proposal was not accepted in the voting, which was rejected 15 times by Eyüp Aksu, the President of the Istanbul Taxi Professionals Chamber and the Representative of TŞOF Istanbul UKOME.
Because Eyüp Aksu argues that public transportation has developed a lot over the years (although not as fast as the population of the city) and that the current system can be made more efficient with applications. He also says that taxi license plates are an investment tool, that if he bought land instead of license plates years ago, it would gain much more value, and the emergence of new license plates would increase his loss.
In addition, at a UKOME meeting where 5 thousand new taxi offers were rejected, “Let the municipality run and sell the license plates (taxis). Let’s say yes.” It seems that Istanbul’s lack of need for a taxi is not behind the objection.
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