Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) announced the mandatory use of lighted signs on the roofs of taxis to display their availability for passengers, after a decision made by the city's Transportation Coordination Directorate (UKOME) on Thursday.

The "Proposal for Arrangement of Overhead Lamps Used in Taxi Transport" scheduled for discussion at the UKOME meeting today was accepted by a majority of votes. In this context, information such as full, empty and reserved will be placed on the roofs of taxis.

The lights will read "full" if there are passengers in the vehicle and "empty" if there are no passengers. If taxi drivers are en route to pick up passengers, the signs will display "reserved." Thus, as a result of the guidelines, problems experienced in taxis such as "selecting passengers or not picking up passengers" will be eliminated.

Eyüp Aksu, president of the Taxi Drivers' Chamber, stated that they voted in favor of the proposal at the meeting and that the practice would be implemented within three months.

At the UKOME meeting, the agenda of roof signs to be used for communication between the passenger and the taxi driver was aimed to eliminate inconvenient ride selections. In addition, taxis will have a panic button for driver and passenger safety. When the button is pressed, the "S.O.S." sign will appear on the overhead lamp, which will determine a call for help or a case of emergency.

So if the driver has received a reservation through an app, the taxi driver will have the phrase "RZV" on display. Similarly, a red light would mean the taxi is full or occupied, and green light will indicate availability. After this decision, authorities will ensure all existing taxis switch to the system and install overhead signs within three months.

Taxi driver Hasan Kön said, "I think the application will reap good results. Because even when our vehicle is full, the customer is not able to see inside and they complain. Moreover, the system is not harmful to taxi drivers either."