Museum admission prices increased by 30–50% in 2020. According to a new policy implemented by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), entrance fees to several museums were raised between 30% and 50%. The price changes took effect on March 1, 2020. The museums affected by the increases are:
- Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı),
- Miniatürk,
- Panorama 1453,
- Şerefiye Cistern (Şerefiye Sarnıcı),
- Tekfur Palace Tile Museum (Tekfur Sarayı Çini Müzesi).
Following the March 1, 2020 adjustments, the new admission prices are as follows:
- Basilica Cistern: a 50% increase was applied. After the adjustment, the full ticket is 15 TL, the student and teacher ticket is 5 TL, and the price for foreign visitors is 30 TL.
- Miniatürk: the full ticket was raised to 10 TL. Student tickets are 5 TL, and foreign visitor tickets are set at 20 TL.
- Panorama 1453: the admission fee is set at 10 TL.
- Tekfur Palace Tile Museum: full tickets are 10 TL and student tickets are 5 TL.
Public Transport in Istanbul Increased by 35%
Public transportation fares in Istanbul were raised by 35% across the city. Changes to pricing at İBB metrobüs stops were also introduced. Before the increase, a fixed pricing scheme applied between metrobüs stops: 1–3 stops cost 1.95 TL, and 4–9 stops cost 3 TL. After the increase, the fare for 1–3 stops was expected to be 2.60 TL, but with an additional raise that amounted to a 79% increase for some segments, fares for the third stop and beyond were raised to 3.50 TL.
In addition, the İBB administration increased prices by 20% at BELTUR municipal cafeteria facilities. Bottled water prices from Hamidiye also rose by between 20% and 50%. After the adjustments a 19‑liter bottle costs 11 TL, and 0.5‑liter bottles are 1.5 TL.
Commenting on the transport fare increase, the İBB Mayor said they were forced to apply the hike and that they were not happy about it. He explained that, had they avoided raising fares, the subsidy required from the municipal budget would have risen to nearly 3.6 billion TL. Although those figures are large, he added, they would still not have been sufficient to balance the budget without the fare adjustments.