According to data released by the State Highways Directorate on Wednesday 20 January, Turkey earned 1.46 billion Turkish liras ($387 million) in tolls from two bridges on the Istanbul Strait as well as toll roads in 2017.

The July 15 Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge – both spanning the Bospohorus and connecting Europe and Asia – together yielded around 362.32 million liras ($96.2 million), while toll highways throughout Turkey earned almost 1.09 billion liras ($290 million) last year.

The figures published state that over 458 million vehicles paid tolls to the use facilities in the same period. Drivers in Turkey used to pay 7 liras ($1.85) for bridge tolls, with higher fees for vehicles with more than two axles.

On January 1, 2018, Istanbul Strait bridge tolls increased to 8.75 liras ($2.32).

Last December nearly 47 million vehicles used Turkey’s toll bridges and toll roads, paying a total of nearly 124.9 million liras ($33.18 million).

In 2016, 417 million vehicles used Turkey’s toll bridges and roads, paying a total of 1.2 billion liras ($318.81 million). On the Istanbul Strait, the bridge toll at that time was 4.75 liras ($1.26) per passage.