The Mahmutbey neighborhood in Istanbul’s Bağcılar district is better known by motorists as a busy part of a toll road. Home to the most gridlocked congestion in a city notorious for its traffic jams, especially during rush hours, Mahmutbey is now at the heart of a lawsuit.
A consumer association and locals living near the road want the tollbooths removed, claiming that the neighborhood is now considered part of the city and the booths no longer serve their original purpose, that is, to charge drivers seeking to bypass other roads while traveling through the city in transit.
The original tollbooths in the area the Trans-European Motorway (TEM) crosses through were removed in 2016 and replaced with an electronic detection system, easing traffic a bit as drivers no longer have to stop for payments. But locals complain about having to pay while people in other parts of Istanbul do not have to, even though they are also commuters.
The lawsuit's first hearing began on Tuesday at the Eighth Administrative Court of Istanbul, with the participation of plaintiffs, including the Consumer Protection Association (TÜKODER).
Speaking to Demirören News Agency (DHA) after the first hearing, TÜKODER chair Aziz Koçal explained that the tollbooths were “out of the city” in 1988 when they were first erected but now they are in the middle. “People living in districts and neighborhoods including Avcılar, Halkalı, Bahçeşehir, Esenkent, Ikitelli have to either pay or take the side roads where the traffic is much worse. If you reside and work in a district on the section of the road near the toll road, you can travel free of charge but if you work on one side and reside on the other, you have to cross through the toll road. This is a double standard,” he said. “In reality, they both live in a residential area.” Koçal claimed the tolls break equality laws in the Consitution and breach consumer rights. “Transportation services (use of roads) should be for free within city limits. This is no longer a transit road. It is a road serving districts inside the city. We hope the court will rule in favor of the people,” he said.
Aydan Kara, one of the plaintiffs, said she has been a resident of Bahçeşehir district for the past two decades and has to pay to travel back and forth. “I have to pay while driving home, driving to work or anywhere else. People in other districts do not have to. Why should I?” Kara said the toll road was already a source of distress, explaining: “It usually takes 45 minutes to reach from my home to the toll road but without traffic, it is only 10 minutes away. This means more fuel cost for me and more stress.” The toll road, once surrounded by vast fields and empty lots, now crosses through rapidly developing suburbs dotted with high-rise residential buildings as well as business centers.
Taner Göçmen, another plaintiff, said he has to pay an average of around $1 (TL 15) every day. “The highway is the only way for me to go to work,” he said.
