In Istanbul, the unemployed will be able to use public transport for free
Kyiv • UNN
Istanbul authorities are launching a free travel program for 237,893 unemployed residents of the city. Each participant will receive 96 free rides for 3 months via an app or QR code.
In the near future, unemployed residents of Istanbul will be able to ride public transportation for free. This measure, announced by the local authorities, is seen as a way to remove barriers to finding a job in the metropolis of 16 million people. Bloomberg writes about it, UNN reports.
Details
As Bloomberg notes , Istanbul may be the largest city to ever try such a policy, but it is not the first. Similar policies have been launched in smaller European cities such as Budapest; Birmingham, England; and Seville, Spain; as well as in Cape Town and the Australian state of New South Wales.
Istanbul's program, which it hopes to roll out in October, is extremely ambitious. It will apply to applicants registered with the municipality's regional employment centers - a total of 237,893 people in 2023. Each eligible person will receive 96 free rides over three months, with a maximum of four rides per day, via an app or QR code.
As noted, the cost of public transportation in Istanbul has increased significantly.
The cost of a single trip in the city has risen almost fivefold over the past five years as Turkey has experienced a series of currency crises and crushing inflation. The country's unemployment rate stood at 8.8% as of July, although when part-time and seasonal employment are taken into account, the "overall unemployment rate" reached 27.2% by the end of the month, Bloomberg reports.
Subsidizing fares for job seekers is one of several ways that cities are trying to make transportation more accessible. Some cities, such as Luxembourg and Tallinn (Estonia), have made public transportation free for all, but the results have been mixed. In many other cities, travel is free for students and the poor.
Research in the UK shows that transportation costs matter to people trying to re-enter the labor market. According to a 2019 report by the UK's Urban Transport group, 77% of job seekers in UK cities outside London do not have regular access to a car, van or motorcycle, and a quarter of them reported that their job search was hampered by the cost of travel.
However, research is mixed on how policies like Istanbul's can affect employment outcomes. While "most evidence suggests a positive relationship" between transport policy and employment, the available research is "not conclusive or consistent and often shows mixed results," according to researchers at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds.
Recall
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved attracting more than €17 million from the European Investment Bank for the development of transport . The funds will go to communities to upgrade municipal vehicle fleets.
