Uber Returned to Turkey!

Uber returned to Turkey! Turkey's access barriers against Uber was officially removed today. California-based transportation app Uber return to Turkey. Uber, entering Turkey in June 2014, had stopped its XL car service before in 2019, then stopped its taxi service due to the decision to obstruct access taken by the court.   Why Was Uber Banned? In June of 2014, Uber began its UberBlack service with a 10 drivers in Turkey. Many features such as the clean and comfortable Uber vehicles, the ability to call the driver via the mobile application, the option to pay by credit card, and the calculation of the transportation fee at the beginning of the journey made Uber a favorite of people in Istanbul in a short time. However, the rise of Uber disturbed taxi drivers. Following this, the General Directorate of Security demanded Uber to be fined for the crime of piracy, with the instruction sent to all provinces in December 2016, and the Istanbul Taxi Drivers' Chamber of Tradesmen filed a lawsuit against Uber in September 2017. On October 16, 2019, the Istanbul 10th Commercial Court of First Instance decided to stop Uber activities and block access to the mobile app and website on the grounds of unfair competition.   Is Uber Coming Back? According to the appeal court decision dated December 24, 2020, first instance court decision that the blocks to access to Uber in Turkey was flawed. Thus, by removing access barriers, made a way to Uber to provide taxi service in Turkey once more. In a post made on Uber Turkey’s Twitter account, following expressions were used: “We are pleased with the cancellation of the access barriers agains Uber Turkey. Our application will continue to serve people of Istanbul with yellow taxis. We're excited to meet again with our users in Turkey. Hoping for a beautiful future, together! #Uberyeniden” Uber, in its post on January 13, announced that the access block is 'officially lifted' today. The expressions used in the post were as follows: “Access barriers implemented against Uber in Turkey was officially removed today according to the court decision. People of Istanbul, hello again! #uberyeniden”