By decision of the Istanbul city council, public transport fares — including metro, bus, minibus, metrobus, ferry, taxi and school shuttle — rose by 30% from 15 September.
Following the decision, Abdullah Özdemir, Istanbul provincial chair of the AK Party, announced on the social network NSosyal that the increase will not apply to metro lines bearing the “U” logo or to Marmaray. Özdemir noted that fare increases had so far been based on indicators such as the minimum wage, inflation and fuel prices and were usually made once a year. He stressed that the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (CHP) administration had broken with this practice by raising fares by 30% just eight months after a 35% increase in January 2025.
According to Özdemir, the full electronic fare has risen from TRY 27 to TRY 35 and the monthly blue card from TRY 2,120 to TRY 2,748. He added: “This increase is based neither on economic data nor on any mathematical justification. Citizens should know, however, that it will not be applied on lines operated by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure — the ‘U’-logo metros and Marmaray. In particular, the hundreds of thousands of citizens who use Marmaray will not be affected by this increase.”
