An Istanbul taxi driver has been fined and had his license revoked after taking a U.S. social media broadcaster to his hotel without using a taximeter following an event featuring Travis Scott in Istanbul.
American streamer Auger, who attended the event at Tersane Istanbul in Karaköy, boarded a taxi to head to his hotel in Taksim, just a short distance away from the venue, and livestreamed the journey.
Footage showed that the driver asked 50 euros ($58) for the ride, to which the streamer verbally agreed to, and failed to activate the meter.
After arriving at his hotel, Auger later claimed that 7,300 Turkish Liras ($136) had been charged to his card.
Following his post, Istanbul traffic police launched an investigation and identified the driver, who was subsequently detained along with the taxi.
He was fined a total of 141,500 liras for violations, including failure to use a taximeter, non-compliance with traffic signage, and not wearing a seatbelt. His taxi driver’s license was revoked, and the vehicle was removed from service. He is expected to be referred to court on fraud charges. An investigation is ongoing.
