Students now prefer to hitchhike as public transport fares across north Cyprus increased by 40 percent

There has been an increase in the number of student hitchhikers on the road as public transportation costs have increased, Yeniduzen reports.

An increase in fares by 40 percent has been announced. 

The head of Kar-İş, the local business’s union, Fuat Topaloğlu, told Yeniduzen that the price increases had been postponed constantly. However, bus companies were going through hard times economically. “We have never seen a worse period than this”, he said, adding that the government should support public transportation.

Cost of Public Transport

Lefkosia - Famagusta (round trip): around 100 TL increased to 140 TL.

Lefkosia – Kyrenia (round trip): around 70 TL increased to around 90 TL. 

Lefkosia – Güzelyurt (round trip): around 80 TL, with an increase, around 90 TL.

Lefkosia – Haspolat (round trip): around 20 TL,  with an increase, around 33 TL.

Topaloğlu said that students, Security Forces Command personnel, police and subscribers receive a 15 percent discount.

“We were constantly postponing, we had to increase the fares”, the head of Kar-İş said, pointing out that they had no choice because they were losing all their profits. 

Illegal Transportation

There also is illegal transportation in the country which seriously affects registered transport companies’ income, however, the government has made no moves to stop these activities, Topaloğlu also noted.

“It was announced that 85 planes landed in our country on New Year’s Eve. Only 1% of registered transporters transported the tourists coming to our country. So, who is carrying these people? We say this all the time, but there is no sound from the government. If our government wants to keep public transportation alive, it must first ask the question ‘Who will be the transporter’ and act accordingly. We are not against any sector, but other sectors should also respect us. We say that we are a ‘student country’, but we do not see how many of these students use transportation. In fact, those who practise this profession have no income”, he said. 

Yeniduzen, Lgc news