The Kalkan Taxi Debate

[Kalkan Taxi]

Hi to everyone

Sorry for being away from the debate because I just came back to university and had to do my things to get ready for my last year in university. Whatever, I just want to say that I know how you all feel aobut taxi fares. But as kalkanpost says we have really so many spendings. Also some of our friends told that some cars are really bad. Yes thats also true but I just want to ask you something. Have you ever feeled how it feels to drive all those uncomfortable cars during all day under that hot weather. Last year I had also one of that old cars and me and my father cant stand that car. So we changed it. And now please tell me that if we really earn eonugh money from taxi then why does our taxi rank still have those old cars?And the ones who bought new bigger ones. Do u know their paying conditions? They get money from bank and have to pay it every month for 3 years. And you all know how the roads are in Kalkan. Do u think that after those 3 years those cars will be still new? And think about this they have to pay nearly 700 new turkish liras to bank every month and they have to get stuffs to their house and clothes to themselves and so many things. Dont they have to eat out at nights?Or go to a club or bar to have a efes? How come they will do all these? You come to holiday and get not happy with the fares and most of these drivers dont go holiday? Because they have to live with the money they earned during season in the winter. Do u think that there will be still money to have holiday? And as mr ilker said if you have any problem get the number of cars which are on the doors of the cars and come to the taxi rank and tell us your problems.We will sort it out be sure about that.And as cosetta said I also do my customers the same way. We get agreed with my customers on a fixed price and I cost them that way same before or after 12 pm. And one more adding;
this job is not so important for me of course it is but my father is a retired NCO and he gets salary from there and also as I said  I am in my last year in university and studying construction technician as most of you know. So next year hopefully I will work in this catogery. And if I have enough money or could find a partner to set up an new travel agency. For these I just finished my web site with its new face and trying to do all my best to to these 2 jobs for next summer.

I hope all these informations were helpful. And if you have still have questions please let me know. And about the things Mustafa said. Jen was right completely about Mustafa''s saying.

Regards

Emre GÖKTEPE

[felicity]

Hi Emre

Thank you for taking the time to reply and I really do hear what you are saying and I really do feel sorry for your plight - and I would not like to be a taxi driver in Kalkan that''s for sure!!  Having said that - many of us Brits are simply not made of money and those regulars to Kalkan (and even those newbies) are simply fed up with the high prices being charged that we are voting with our feet and choosing not to spend our hard earned cash on taxis but using our feet instead.  As you might have noticed from some other more recent threads on this forum - some people are walking a considerable way along the Kalamar road and uphill to avoid paying the taxi fares - which in isolation are not that expensive - but when you do it twice a day for 2 weeks and maybe more if you are lucky enough to come to kalkan more than once a year - this can mount up to several hundred pounds - which might make the difference between coming to Kalkan - or not, eating out every night or not, going on trips or not and compared to the other costs of other activities for simply transport - people are quite rightly saying - there has to be another way..!!  So unfortunately - the taxi drivers are actually going to be the losers amongst all of this....

Fortunately - I am a bystander in this as we are lucky enough not to need to use taxis and I think more and more people are going to question the proximity of where they are staying to town, or hire a car or simply take the plunge and walk....  There will always be a demand for taxis but at the comparative prices that they are compared to other things in Turkey AND to taxi prices in the UK - the demand will be less and therefore less business for the taxi drivers.  The only way that I can see out of this mess is to halve the taxi prices and try to recoup the lost business which I feel sure that will happen - only then will people increasingly use the taxis if they feel that they can spare the odd 5 lira instead of walking - but until that time, I''m afraid that it will be you - the taxi drivers that will be the losers.....

Sorry - but that is market economics for you, Emre, and I know it is harsh but life is harsh - and I reiterate that I do really feel for you and your fellow drivers....

[theinspector]

emre hello I am a taxi driver here in the uk and i can understand your plight. But i realy dont agree with the way all you taxi drivers have taken away the supermarkets right to offer its customers transport home with thier shopping they do not charge a fare so WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM.

I also think that you should make you fares  a little cheaper that way you will make your monies back again. But knowing the turks  you have got more chance of seeing  pink snow

your fares are as exspensive as they are here in the uk
cheers mike

[Blue Lizard]

Emre ..thank you for taking time to post your valued points on the taxi problem...you say taxi drivers charge so much because they have to to live on in winter what they earn in summer...i have to work all year round as does my partner,my work involves 12to 14 hour shifts in the dock area in portsmouth...i do 104 hours before i get 2 days off,i am out in all weathers ,i work all the bank holidays including christmas,my partner is manageresss of a perfume shop and also works long hours often with out a day off if staff are ill or on holiday....it''s only because of this we can afford holidays,i object to the taxi drivers dictating that i can''t have a lift home with my shopping or a hotel can''t let me use it''s courtesy bus having enjoyed a meal/drink there..i will not use taxis anymore ,my hard earned money will be spent how i wish,i will in future only stay near the village and will walk when i have to...this year i was charged several different prices ranging from double last years (which is incredible inflation)to the downright ridiculous three times last year(well before midnight)needless to say i didn''t tip either...i was also charged on a taxi meter while the driver went out of his way and mine to pick up his girlfriend!!i estimate to have spent over £120 pounds during 2 weeks (conservative estimate)my other half also spent on taxis as well though not as much as me as we were often together!!as kalkan expands will we see a dolmus service going around kalkan? i think i know the answer to that!!!..NO!!..anyway Emre it is obviously something people will not agree on ,thank you again for your time,what i spent on taxis will now be spent in bars and restaurants so will still be in Kalkan..take care...

[Kalkan Taxi]

Firstly we cant compare the jobs the ones in the turkey and UK. For example thinspector now I think you all will understand I tried to mean in my lasp post. You are taxi driver in UK and can come to holiday easily to Kalkan. Because you earn that much. I am not talking about myself coz everyyear I go to holidays. But most of the taxi drivers cant go holiday even they cant dream a holiday Now you see he economical difference between UK and Turkey.

Regards

P.S. : blue lizard you can be my guest at bars or restaurants I can pay for you the problems all we talk about during all this time donest include me and my dad. I was being here just for answering your questions. Maybe some times I should did some mistakes but forgive me for all those.

Emre GÖKTEPE

[bankieken]

I think its clear from the most recent posts by the various Kalkan taxi drivers that they honestly believe that they are doing nothing wrong and their actions will  improve the level of income they can achieve.  Only time will tell if they are correct. 

In the meantime I am sure that many tourists will continue to use them (some have little choice due to the location of their accommodation), some will seek accommodation closer to the centre and others will hire cars.

[Kim]

Hi Emre,

I just can''t get my head around this sudden price increase.  If you are saying that the taxi fares are heavily inflated because of the winter ''low season'' and therefore need to stock up for the lean months, then how have the boats / gulets not done the same?  How can they offer a full day out with lunch, crew, boat overheads, cleaning etc... for under £12 per 7 hour day!  Compare this with a 5 minute taxi fare of 10L?  What happens to the boats in the winter?  They do not have any business at all, yet the taxis still do as there are more people spending winters in Kalkan.  Actually the boat owners have the right attitude, that of attracting customers by offering competitive prices when things are quiet .  It works and also has the positive effect of bringing people back time and time again because it is attracting repeat business. 

Our last taxi driver dropped us off, showed 8.2L on his meter, we gave him 10L with the view of leaving him a reluctant 9L, however in the blink of an eye, he took the note, slammed the door shut and drove off at a rapid rate of knots!  Rip off big time and that is why we won''t support the taxis any more.  Someone in that company / co-operative is making a real bad business judgement and though you and your father mean well Emre, I don''t think the men in charge are on your same wave length.

[Mercimek]

Just wanted to post a positive for the taxi drivers- one of the drivers stopped this morning and offered me a free lift to the harbour, second time this has happened recently (different drivers) - thank you Bayram and Ali.
Also just a thought- does anyone know anywhere else that supermarkets would give you and your shopping a lift home? I don''t and have lived in other areas in Turkey and it never happened there, nor did they do deliveries. I think we were spoilt, and maybe some took advantage of the service, I have mentioned to a few newcomers that the supermarkets will deliver just your shopping and they think that is a great service.

[Blue Lizard]

would the taxi men give a big hairy man a free lift.....doubtfull!!

[Kim]

We too can get this free service in England by Tesco / Sainsbury''s / M&S etc.....and they have a lot further to go, so it''s not that great a service and if I am on holiday, I don''t want to hang around waiting for my shopping to arrive in Turkish time!  I''d rather be with my shopping and get home at the same time.  Blue Lizard, I don''t even think the taxis would offer me a freebie and i think i''m past my sell by date, so don''t hang around too much!!!!  PS  The boats don''t get any passing traffic do they?  Once they are sea bourne that''s it, no return journey for them!

I live close to 2 cities and my taxi on a girls night out with 3 pick-ups only costs £7 and £8 after 11pm for a round trip of 14 miles.  Kalkan is a much more expensive journey and since we can walk....we will!

[Mercimek]

Really Kim, whereabouts do these shops deliver customer and shopping to their home? I have never heard of such a service

[Buster]

Really Kim, whereabouts do these shops deliver customer and shopping to their home? I have never heard of such a service

Hi Mercimek

Kim is quite right in what she is saying. In London we have free delivery from all of the major supermarkets and the distance the delivery vehicles travel is in most cases equal to or greater than the journeys made in Kalkan.

But please any Kalkan Taxi Driver reading this post and the many other posts on this subject please answer this question for me:-

Why does Kalkan not have a local Dolmus bus service which takes a route around the various outlying areas to collect and deposit guests back to pre-arranged stops which are within a short walking distance of their hotel or villa?

The Dolmus system of transport in Turkey is both cost effective and efficient compared with taxis that waste fuel making similar journeys throughout the day carrying in most cases only 2 people.

Why not carry 10 or 12 people who want to go in the same general direction, with the obvious saving in fuel and the reduction in extra pollution caused by so many extra car journeys required by using a taxi.

Kalkan is hilly but its the fact that the cobbled streets meander down hill toward the sea that give it its unique charm and wonderful views of the sea,  I believe it’s those views coupled with Turkish hospitality that attract so many visitors back each year.

In the heat of a Kalkan summer it is just not possible for British people like me used to lower temperatures in the UK to walk to the many hotels and villas that have been built and are being built up higher in Kalkan and built to take advantage of the spectacular views.

This restricts the choice of hotels and villas that people are prepared to book to those that are near the old town as the weekly cost of using taxis as we have read in other posts can amount to £ 120.00 plus per couple.

Kalkan competes for tourists not just with other Turkish resorts but with those in Spain, Greece, France and Italy if it is to attract it’s fair share that added £ 120.00 could be the reason people don’t book or return as they have in the past to Kalkan.

I believe that if the Turkish people living in Kalkan and the local villages around are to derive the maximum benefit that the extra income larger numbers of tourists and people coming back 3 – 4 times can bring then an integrated transport system around Kalkan will be very important in helping to attract the extra tourist required to make the hotels, restaurants and the number of new villa’s needing to be sold viable.


Can any Kalkan taxi driver tell me why I am wrong?                 Best Regards:  Buster

[Blue Lizard]

south coast ...our local sainsburys offers a free bus shuttle and provides a round robin trip....buster i have often asked why kalkan doesn''t have a dolmus service to various points in the extremities of the village..eg kalamar,akbel road,kisla to name a few...but i think we know the reason?    best wishes lizard

[holidayfever]

Yep its time the dolmus arrived, much more cost effective and better for the enviroment, I have been to lots of places in Turkey and Kalkan is the only one I have been too that doesnt have one, but as you say think we know why.

[kal1]

I agree with Kim & Buster and we have tesco & Sainsburys free shuttle bus in our area too.
I have heard the reason we dont have a dolmus is because the taxi drivers wont allow it, but this is just talk so perhaps someone in the know can tell us.

[Kalkan Taxi]

Ok Everybody

I tried to tell all conditions we have and you still don''t want to understand anything. This is my last post about this debate.

I hope all you have agreed about everything.And one more think I don''t earn my all money from taxi so It is not important for me if you use or not. And holidayfever and blue lizard I don''t want to be rude and please do not misunderstand me you say that you know the reason then why don''t you tell this to our municipality instead of writing here. I saw that you all know all problems in Kalkan better than me then please you find some solutions for these and tell them to our muicipality.

These are all I can say for you about this debate

Regards

Emre GOkTEPE

[holidayfever]

Oh blue Lizard you are getting me in trouble lol but all I was saying is think dolmus should run up to the kalamar bay area, and from the village to the top of town, but I can only guess they dont because the taxis say no, forgive me if I am wrong, they do in other towns, and if you are a big family staying in a villa it would make more sense than catching 2 taxis to the same place ,simple as.

[Blue Lizard]

oh aren''t i a naughty lizard geting you in trouble ....i would put my points to the municipality if they had some one on here but they don''t..and i''m sure my point of view would be of about as much interest to them and about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike...but thats what it is a point of view,which i am perfectly entitled to...it won''t change anything ..but i will vote with my feet!!

[Kim]

Well Emre, if you have other income and you don''t care whether we use the taxis or not, then your opinion here is unimpressive.  I was under the impression it was a family businesss and you were representing that and that the main complaint of taxi drivers was that you were unable to earn during the winter months?  How are you handling that?

Blue Lizard and others on this forum are  potential customers who are trying to understand a huge price increase and get an explanation as to the resons why. We also have our friends and family to consider when recommending Kalkan.  Believe you me, if this happened in the UK, it would receive similar hostility and would demand similar answers.

It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

[felicity]

I think that what will happen next year will be that, assuming the taxi drivers insist on charging these ridiculous prices and holding the supermarkets free delivery service and the potential for a dolmus service to ransom - is that yet again they will be complaining about lack of custom and people will vote with their feet (as they are doing already) and simply walk despite the hills or Kalkan regulars will be very picky and choosy about where they stay so that they don''t have to use taxis. 

So the end result is - nothing achieved for anybody - unhappy taxi drivers, unhappy visitors and more general unpleasantness.  At least halve the taxi fares and they might stand half  a chance of recouping their customers and lost income and might just get their trade back.....  As Kim says - the same would happen in England if taxis monopolised the situation and charged ridiculous prices - people just voting with their feet and refusing to part with hard earned cash for a 2 minute ride home!!