Sea taxis in Istanbul in service, awaiting customers

ISTANBUL

Locally produced sea taxis in Istanbul have officially set off for the first time to reduce the intercontinental transits of the city’s residents to a more reasonable time.

Designed and produced at Istanbul’s Haliç Shipyard and recently passed their test voyages, the boats will work like regular taxis with a reservation system on a 24-hour basis.

The customers will be able to hail sea taxis to where they are via an online application, İBB Deniz Taksi.

The taxis will work with a fee charged per mile, and the opening fee for boats with a capacity of 10 passengers will be 100 Turkish Liras ($7.50), but an additional fare will be charged per mile on exceeding a certain distance.

Customers are required to pay 75 liras ($5.50) per mile between 1 and 4 miles, 60 lira ($4.50) per mile between 4 and 8 miles, and 48 liras ($3.50) per mile after 8 miles.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality also plans to introduce the “shared taxi” concept soon, aiming to reduce the fares to a more reasonable price for a single passenger.

With an expectation to make a positive contribution to maritime transportation in Istanbul, a metropolis with over 16 million population and divided by the Bosphorus, 50 sea taxis will be in service initially.