President Tugay reacted to the exorbitant increase in the rental fee of TCDD’s railway lines

Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Dr. Cemil Tugay, reacted to the 3.5-fold increase in track rental fee for İZBAN by TCDD during the council meeting. Emphasizing that they did not increase public transportation fares to avoid burdening the people, Mayor Tugay stated, ‘TCDD should make sacrifices to prevent the debt burden of İZBAN from increasing in this environment.’ The first session of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Council’s ordinary meeting for June, presided over by Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay, was held. During the session, the exorbitant increase in the track usage fee for İZBAN by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) administration was also brought up.
Highlighting that İZBAN is a partnership between TCDD and the Metropolitan Municipality, Mayor Tugay said, ‘While we did not increase the transportation expenses of the citizens during this period of economic crisis, electricity prices increased, and a rental fee above the officially announced inflation rate was charged for the tracks. TCDD did this, didn’t they? I wanted to draw attention to this issue especially for those who wonder why İZBAN is operating at a loss.’
‘Why are you indebting us so much?’ Drawing attention to the fact that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality owes TCDD over 911 million TL due to electricity and track rentals, Mayor Tugay pointed out that one of the major reasons for the loss and debt in İZBAN is the exorbitant hikes made by TCDD. He asked, ‘Why are you indebting us so much?’ Tugay also stated, ‘TCDD is increasing the money it receives as ‘track rental’ by three and a half times in one year. The municipality does not use these funds for private business but for public transportation. Instead of allowing this loss to grow, contribution should be made to reduce it.’
‘I will go to the AK Party Provincial Chairman, my file is ready.’ Mayor Tugay emphasized the need for these negatives to be corrected fairly and without manipulation and said, ‘If they say they are not doing this, let the duality end. I have prepared my file. I will go to the AK Party Izmir Provincial Chairman Bilal Saygılı as part of the courtesy visit we made. I will tell him about these issues. I will ask for his support for a solution. İZBAN cannot survive with TCDD’s attitude. We should raise the ticket prices to 50 liras for İZBAN to survive; this is not possible. TCDD cannot increase prices by 350% annually. There is no manipulation here.’
‘If it continues like this, the partnership will be broken.’ Mayor Tugay also stated, ‘I want İZBAN to serve the city of Izmir and its people. I want it to have a sustainable economy and planning while doing so. What we expect under these conditions is TCDD’s assistance. They are our partners. Let me increase it by three and a half times in a year, you don’t have to raise ticket prices. Because anyway, I take the money generated from here and invest it in capital increase. This means; deal with your own issues, I will take care of mine. This cannot be. If it continues like this, the partnership will be broken. Either they should handle everything to us or we should hand over everything to them. You earn one lira and spend two, can this work? All the burden is on us.’
‘You didn’t have a deputy, you weren’t there, don’t claim it like that.’ Mayor Tugay also provided information about the process regarding the reversal of the demolition of Çankaya Multi-Storey Car Park and the selection of the strengthening method. In his speech, Mayor Tugay stated, ‘The Metropolitan Municipality had decided on demolition following the tests. There was objection, it went to court. The court had also ruled that it should be demolished. Then the election happened. Our friends in the area told me, ‘if this is demolished, we will have a parking problem.’ I asked my friends, ‘Is there an alternative to demolition, can you investigate?’ They investigated. All legal processes were completed, we had to demolish. Therefore, in the council, I said ‘unfortunately, it seems necessary to demolish’ expressing my sadness. Afterwards, an official from the Foundations Regional Directorate called us and said, ‘if you do not want it to be demolished, if you are truly sad, can we discuss if there can be an alternative in Ankara?’ I said, ‘Please do.’ If a letter comes from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change stating ‘demolition is not mandatory,’ we will not demolish. Don’t claim it like that.’