Labour relations, occupation and transformation in urban transport: The case of taxi, minibus and taxi-minibus in Istanbul

Urban transportation is located at the conjunction of technical and social areas and it includes various institutions and actors depending on the scale of urban development. As urban transportation incorporates private enterprises, it creates poverty relations and allows the organization of urban transportation by private actors at the point where urban needs intersect with capital accumulation. The relationships established in this area display a diverse historical and spatial view. Moreover, along with the changes that take place in urban transportation, transportation labor goes through constant transformation. Within the scope of this study, the occupational transformation that took place in taxi, taxi-minibus and minibus transportation systems, which are provided by small-scale private urban transportation actors in Istanbul, and the reflection of this transformation on working relations are evaluated. In order to understand the transportation organization and working relations in the transportation systems examined in Istanbul, semi-structured interviews were conducted with taxi, minibus and taxi-minibus license plate holders and drivers. The research findings indicate that the increase in commercial license plate values stratified the driving profession in taxis, minibuses and taxi-minibuses. In addition, although the urban transportation has been institutionalized, this institutionalization does not alter the informal structure of working and employment relations that progress through bilateral relations and are characterized by precarity for the workers.