The deepening shortage of parking spaces and uncontrolled private parking lots are pushing parking prices in Istanbul to unprecedented levels, with hourly rates now reaching hundreds of liras and monthly subscription prices competing with housing rents, Turkish media write, quoted by BTA.
In an article on the topic, the website “Hurriyet Daily News“ notes that, amid the increase in parking prices in municipal parking lots in the city introduced on January 1, which brought the price of parking there to 200 Turkish liras (4 euros) per hour, private operators in the city are now asking for between 400 and 800 Turkish liras (8 and 16 euros) per hour for cars. In the central Laleli district near the Grand Bazaar, for example, the monthly subscription for parking a car in a private garage has already reached 29,000 liras (560 euros), and that for buses - 40,000 liras (770 euros), the media outlet also notes. In its article, the media outlet also notes that in some of the most expensive areas of the city, monthly parking passes reach prices of 50,000 liras (960 euros).
In an article on the subject, the Turkish newspaper “Oksijen“, titled “Parking fees rival rents“, the media outlet also notes that the average price for parking in private parking lots in the metropolis has already reached 20,000 liras (390 euros) per month, and in areas such as Şişli, Beşiktaş and Kadıköy, drivers are forced to pay up to 10,000 liras (190 euros) per month just to have a reserved space.
The average price for a monthly parking pass seems even more shocking if compared to the area of the spaces in question, notes the website “Türkiye today“, stating that the monthly subscription costs around 1,600 liras (30 euros) per square meter, if the standard size of parking spaces in the city (12.5 square meters) set by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is used as a measure.
Amid the extreme price increase, in a recent interview with Haberturk TV, the chairman of one of the city's consumer confederations, Aydin Agaoglu, stressed the urgent need to impose a price cap on private parking lots and called on Istanbul drivers to file complaints with the municipalities. He also noted that the Turkish Ministry of Trade has the authority to investigate excessive pricing and sanction operators who cannot justify or clearly display their fees, and called for civic activism on the issue of parking in the metropolis.