Bus fares in Ankara reverted to 2003 levels on March 8 due to a ruling by the Ankara 2nd Administrative Court in a case filed by the Federation of Consumer Associations (TÜDEF). After the decision, dolmuşes failed to run during the busiest times of the day, and privately owned city buses did not operate all day in protest of the reduction.Ankara’s 2nd Administrative Court ruled to grant a stay on the bus fare ruling on March 11. The Ankara Chamber of Minibus Drivers in turn filed suit with the court seeking the cancellation of the fare decrease. As a result, fare decreases were cancelled and bus fares reverted to their previous levels.
Many students from ODTÜ and Hacettepe boarded buses to go to their universities on Wednesday without paying, to protest the increase of fares to their former level. However, bus passengers reported the chaos caused by students to the police. After arriving at the universities, police officers were refused entry to the campuses by university officials. The protests continued until Wednesday at midnight. However, following the protest, 28 students from Hacettepe University and 99 from ODTÜ were detained by police officers. According to news reports, the buses were heavily damaged by students.
