Turkey: Road, bridge tolls reap $186.5M in H1

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey received over 679 million liras (more than $186.5 million) in tolls in the first half of 2017, the Turkish Highways Directorate revealed on Thursday.

The July 15 Martyrs' Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, connecting Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus, yielded over 175 million Turkish liras ($48 million), while highway tolls throughout Turkey earned almost 504 million Turkish liras ($139 million) from January to June, according to the data.

The figures indicate that more than 194 million vehicles went through the toll booths during the same period.

In June, over 34 million vehicles used Turkey’s bridges and highways, paying a total of 106.4 million Turkish liras ($30 million).

Drivers in Turkey pay seven Turkish liras ($1.96) for bridge tolls, with higher fees for vehicles with more than two axles.

Last year, 417 million vehicles used bridges and roads in Turkey, paying a total of 1.2 billion Turkish liras ($320.43 million). The bridge toll at that time was 4.75 Turkish liras ($1.56) per passage.