Small Entrepreneurs in Urban Bus Public Transportation in Ankara: Government Failure Or Market Failure?

SMALL ENTREPRENEURS IN URBAN BUS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN ANKARA: GOVERNMENT FAILURE OR MARKET FAILURE? A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ERAY AKTEPE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN POLICY PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS NOVEMBER 2019 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Science Prof. Dr. Yaşar KONDAKÇI Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. H. Tarık ŞENGÜL Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Ela BABALIK (METU, CRP) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ (METU, ADM) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nilay YAVUZ (METU, ADM) Prof. Dr. Mete YILDIZ (Hacettepe Uni, ADM) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Savaş Zafer ŞAHİN (Atılım Uni, ADM) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Eray Aktepe Signature: III ABSTRACT SMALL ENTREPRENEURS IN URBAN BUS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN ANKARA: GOVERNMENT FAILURE OR MARKET FAILURE? AKTEPE, Eray Ph.D., Urban Policy Planning and Local Governments Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ November 2019, 208 pages The presence of small entrepreneurs who fill the urban transport service gap created by local governments, which cannot provide services against the rapidly growing and concentrated population in cities, has revealed a private sector entrepreneurship that has already had priority status since pre-neoliberalism period. The definition of private sector-oriented services introduced by neoliberal policies pursued since the 1980s enabled private sector entrepreneurship to continue to exist. Due to lack of resources, city administrations could not develop public transportation systems that would provide increasing urban transportation needs. In the face of this insufficiency, the informal and irregular transportation solutions that have developed spontaneously in the society and have finally evolved towards a continuing public transport service concept with the privileged private entrepreneurs. Since small entrepreneurs providing private urban transportation services will lead to the development of a business type that suits their characteristics and conditions, it makes the decisions and regulations of urban transportation important for the control and audit of urban transportation services. All kinds of regulations and urban transport decisions put forward by local authorities within their authority have the potential to generate and IV distribute a transport rent. This situation causes the regulated private service providers to influence regulating institutions and to generate rent through interest groups formed among themselves. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the state and market failures in the provision of urban public transport services. In addition, the aim is to reveal how private urban entrepreneurs are involved in urban decision-making mechanisms and the role of regulations in this participation by the effect of neo-liberal urban policies in the provision of urban transport services. In addition, the main objective is to determine the effect of the elements that may be perceived as technical aspects such as line route and vehicle type selection, but in fact the initiators of the transportation rent process. Keywords, Private Urban Public Transport, Urban Entrepreneurship, Urban Decision Making Process, Ankara V ÖZ ANKARA ŞEHİR İÇİ OTOBÜS TOPLU TAŞIMA HİZMETİNDE KÜÇÜK GİRİŞİMCİLER: HÜKÜMET BAŞARISIZLIĞI MI PİYASA BAŞARISIZLIĞI MI? AKTEPE, Eray Doktora, Kentsel Politika Planlaması ve Yerel Yönetimler Anabilim Dalı Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ Kasım 2019, 208 sayfa Hızla büyüyen ve kentlerde yoğunlaşan nüfusa karşılık hizmet sağlayamayan yerel yönetimlerin meydana getirdiği kent içi ulaşım hizmet boşluğunu dolduran küçük girişimcilerin varlığı, zaten neoliberalizm öncesi dönemden beri öncelikli statüye sahip olan bir özel sektör girişimciliğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. 1980’lerden itibaren izlenen neoliberal politikaların ortaya koyduğu özel sektör odaklı hizmet tanımlaması ise özel sektör girişimciliğinin varlığını devam ettirmesini sağlamıştır. Kent yönetimleri kaynak yetersizliği dolayısıyla giderek artan kent içi ulaşım gereksinmesini sağlayacak toplu taşıma sistemlerini geliştirememiştir. Bu yetersizlik karşısında toplumda kendiliğinden gelişen kayıt dışı ve düzensiz ulaşım çözüm yolları, son olarak imtiyaz sahibi özel girişimcilerle devam eden bir toplu taşıma hizmet sunum anlayışına doğru evrilmiştir. Özel kent içi ulaşım hizmetlerini sağlayan küçük girişimciler kendi özelliklerine ve koşullarına uygun bir işletme türünün gelişmesine neden olacağından, kentsel ulaşım hizmetlerinin denetimi ve kontrolü açısından alınan kentsel ulaşım kararlarını ve regülasyonları önemli hale getirmektedir. Yerel yönetimlerin kendi yetkileri dâhilinde ortaya koydukları her türlü regülasyon ve kentsel ulaşım kararı, bu alanda rant meydana getirme ve bu rantı VI dağıtma potansiyeline sahiptir. Bu durum regülasyona tabi özel hizmet sağlayıcılarının kendi aralarında birleşerek oluşturdukları çıkar grupları aracılığıyla regüle eden kurumları etkilemeye çalışmasına ve rant yaratma faaliyetlerine neden olmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, kentsel toplu taşıma hizmetlerinin sağlanmasındaki devlet ve piyasa başarısızlıklarını ve kentsel ulaşım hizmetlerinin sağlanmasında neo-liberal kentsel politikaların etkisiyle özel kentsel girişimcilerinin, kentsel karar alma mekanizmasına nasıl dâhil olduklarını, bu katılımda regülasyonların rolünü ve hat güzergâh ve araç tipi seçimi gibi belki de teknik hususlar olarak algılanabilecek ancak esasında ulaşım rantı sürecini başlatan unsurların otobüs ulaşım hizmetleri üzerindeki etkisinin belirlenmesidir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Özel Kent İçi Toplu Taşıma, Kentsel Girişimcilik, Kentsel Karar Alma Süreci, Ankara VII To my leavened dough, puppy gazelle and love VIII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ for his guidance, encouragements, insight and advice throughout the research. His profound knowledge has been guidance for me. I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Ela Babalık SUTCLIFFE and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nilay YAVUZ for their suggestions, ideas and comments they shared with me. The technical assistance of my brother, Dr. Suat AKTEPE, is gratefully acknowledged. He has always inspired, encouraged and supported me. My deepest thanks go to my beloved wife, Nursema AKTEPE, who is about to finish her Ph.D. soon and my “leavened dough” and “puppy gazelle” for their endless support and love. My beloved wife, who has been with me in all my achievements in education, has been the person who is the greatest supporter of this thesis. I also offer my deepest gratitude to my parents for their unending and infinite love. Without their love, patience, and support, I could not have written this thesis. Last but not least, I appreciate the moral support of my friends and colleagues Enes Uğur TOHUM and Aydoğan KUTLU who have been accompanied me throughout the thesis writing process as friends. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. IV ÖZ .............................................................................................................................. VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... IX TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... X LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... XIII LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. XIV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ XV CHAPTER INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................... 3 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 4 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN BRIEF ................................................................. 10 1.4 RESEARCH STRUCTURE ...................................................................................... 15 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................. 18 2.1 IDENTIFYING THE RESEARCH AREA ................................................................... 22 2.2 THE FOCUS: ANKARA WESTERN PLANNING ZONE ............................................ 25 2.3 SOURCES OF THE DATA AND DATA COLLECTION PROCESS ................................ 26 2.4 STUDY DESIGN AND SAMPLING ......................................................................... 28 THEORETICAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................

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