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.
Hurriyet Daily News