The formal and the informal in Istanbul’s taxi sector

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the taxi sector in Istanbul and how it is maintained and organized. It seeks to highlight how the illegal and informal practices are inherent and crucial to the taxi sector. Illegal and informal practices do not pertain solely to the taxi sector. What is more interesting and constitutes a puzzle in the case of taxi sector in Istanbul is that the existence of a separate sub-sector: there is a formal sector, which is popularly known as ticari taksi (commercial taxi) and there is an illegal and informal sector, popularly known as korsan taksi (pirate taxi). As the comparative perceptive, the thesis analyzes the taxi markets of different countries and cities. In this sense, firstly, the diversities when the taxi market is analyzed based on the regulation policies are indicated. Secondly, the taxi markets of different countries and cities are handled based on the kinds of service provided. In this regard, even though a similar differentiation and segmentation exist in the Istanbul taxi sector as well, why the sub-sector in Istanbul is defined as illegal and informal is discussed. Within this frame, this study initially examines the informal and illegal practices in the so-called formal taxi sector. Second, it looks at the illegal component of the taxi market. What is crucial in this respect is that even though the illegal component of the taxi sector has an informal characteristic, it does not fit in with the social characteristics which are usually attributed to the informal economy. The study also questions whether the terms of formal and informal economy should be analyzed as two separate domains. Moving from the premise that formality includes informality within it, it aims to highlight how the formal and informal, legal and illegal intermingle in Istanbul’s taxi sector.