İmamoğlu: We are subsidizing transportation with 2 billion liras

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem, who inaugurated the İETT Sultangazi Garage, İmamoğlu, recalled that during their previous terms, they brought 252 metrobus vehicles and 293 new buses to Istanbul under difficult economic conditions. İmamoğlu said, "As you know, as soon as we took office, we had a desire to add another 300 buses to our fleet with different opportunities or longer-term payment plans. As of today, we could have had the opportunity to purchase 300 more buses. The public saw that the people of Istanbul were being punished by the failure to purchase these 300 new buses, and they cut their ticket at the ballot box."

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu inaugurated the İETT Sultangazi Garage, which will be the largest service area after the Ikitelli Garage.

Noting that transportation is one of Istanbul's most important problems, İmamoğlu said, "We can solve this problem with correct, rational, and at the same time sustainable transportation policies. We have taken very valuable steps in this regard over the past 5 years. But we also know that Istanbul has many more steps to take in this area. In this respect, we continue on our path with our services, projects, and opening ceremonies, along with our groundbreaking ceremonies. All these positive steps we have taken will reflect positively on our lives in a much more effective way as time goes by."

"THE PEOPLE OF ISTANBUL CUT THE TICKET OF THOSE WHO PUNISHED THEM"

Sharing the information that "between 2019 and 2023, we experienced a rise to a very significant level in indices related to density and traffic in terms of transportation, and according to measurements made by international criteria and institutions, while we were unfortunately at the top of the list in terms of traffic density, we have now significantly eased this density and made serious progress, having dropped to 34th place," İmamoğlu said the following:

"This is a good thing. Of course, this momentum must continue. The improvement must continue at an accelerating pace. Especially at the head of these actors, that is, the actors contributing to transportation, is the 153-year-old IETT. In every corner of our city, IETT alone carries exactly 5 million people a day. It serves 5 million of our people on their journeys and travels. In other words, while IETT buses travel 1 million 255 thousand kilometers a day, they circle the world exactly 32 times. Of course, as much as the operational size of IETT, its new investments are also very important. In this sense, we added 252 metrobuses and 293 buses to our fleet during this 5-year period, which was a difficult time when many problems were experienced. As you know, as soon as we took office, we had a desire to add another 300 buses to our fleet with different opportunities or longer-term payment plans. Just think; even those opportunities were blocked, and as of today, we could have had the opportunity to purchase 300 more buses—which we applied for in 2021 and for which no answer has even been written—if that had happened, with different opportunities and long-term credit facilities. But I must express with sadness that I say to those administrators who see such obstacles as a political maneuver or a political move from time to time: give this up. Our people showed that they are aware of who is being punished, not who is doing the punishing. In essence, by not signing that document, they saw that the people of Istanbul were being punished by the failure to purchase 300 new buses, and they cut their ticket at the ballot box."

"POLITICS IS A RACE OF SERVICE"

Emphasizing that politics is a race of service, İmamoğlu said, "Politics is never a field for obstructing those who do the work. In this respect, whether it is these 300 buses or any other step we want to take regarding transportation, not being an obstacle but rather paving the way for a project is both a responsibility of public administration and a requirement of political ethics. In this sense, I hope that especially after the March 31 elections, there will be those who abandon these habits."

Pointing out that IETT has achieved many new and significant accomplishments during his administration, İmamoğlu said, "We have made a great and intensive effort to create a service standard by bringing all private public buses—and the representatives of those buses' NGOs, managers, cooperatives, and company executives are here; we thank them and wish them success in this service journey—under the IETT umbrella. Today, we have implemented a method worthy of Istanbul and its residents, where public buses earn their rights based on performance measurements per kilometer rather than passenger numbers, specifically regarding their performance, ticketing, or routes."

"THESE ARE ALL REVOLUTIONARY WORKS"

Stating that "these are all revolutionary works," İmamoğlu noted the following:

"For the first time, female drivers are serving within the IETT, and they are performing their jobs very successfully. Today, our bus drivers serving at IETT have reached 155 women. The number of female employees across IETT has increased by 85 percent. The number of female managers has tripled. We have increased the rate of covered bus stops in Istanbul from 35 percent to 48 percent. Our new constructions are continuing. For the first time, we have started providing service in all 39 districts. Today, we are an institution that has an IETT stop at a maximum of every 500 meters throughout all of Istanbul. Instead of the Metrobus purchases that were unfortunately bought for millions of euros in the past and left to rot, IETT continues its journey today with an approach that is meticulous in every step and area, follows technological developments, and strives to take the most accurate steps."

"WE HAVE REACHED A POINT WHERE WE SUBSIDIZE

TRANSPORTATION BY OVER 2 BILLION LIRAS PER MONTH"

Emphasizing that public transportation is being maintained through institutional and budgetary sacrifices, Imamoglu continued as follows:

"Rising costs, especially regarding passenger unit revenue—meaning ticket prices—have shifted from periods where they covered nearly 65 percent of transportation costs to today, where that level has dropped to 30 percent. And we, as an institution, as the IMM, have reached a point where we are subsidizing transportation by over 2 billion liras per month. Naturally, due to the significantly rising costs, the financial hardships of our citizens, and especially the high cost of living, we as an institution have taken on a major subsidy in public transportation, particularly in bus services, in an effort to keep prices down and not place this burden on the backs of our citizens. The increase in fuel prices, as well as the sharp rise in costs for spare parts and other services, are the biggest factors here. Look, we have said it in many places: being exempt from certain taxes in vehicle procurement... Public transportation is a massive service in large cities. Therefore, being exempt from certain taxes, and in some areas being exempt from VAT and SCT... For instance, we have repeatedly expressed to the central administration that being exempt from VAT on fuel would be a truly valuable step for social life in large cities like Istanbul, especially in today's economic crisis environment. However, we have not received any feedback on this point."

A CALL TO IETT AND PRIVATE PUBLIC BUS DRIVERS

Stating, "Today, we are actually shouldering a large portion of the heavy burden that the economy places on our people through local governments, so that this economic distress, high inflation, rising costs, and financial hardship do not upset our citizens further," Imamoglu concluded his remarks as follows:

"In this context, despite all of this, we are continuing and will continue to make these investments and purchase new buses. You will see; in the coming period, we will continue to provide all of Istanbul with a process and era that is improved both in terms of bus transportation, new metro construction, and our other transportation activities. I have a piece of advice for all our IETT drivers, especially our captains, and particularly the drivers and captains of our companies providing both IETT and public bus services. I will say: May God never let your smiling faces fade. I wish our citizens a professional life free of accidents, troubles, and problems. Because they are entrusted with those beautiful ladies, mothers, siblings, our beautiful children, and our youth that we see here—everyone. In this sense, our bus drivers are the ones who keep them safe in those buses, which sometimes become their homes for minutes or hours. I know their profession is difficult. But it is also a noble profession. To host 5 million people in a city like this in a single day... Therefore, your smiling faces must not fade. Of course, you are driving a bus, you cannot turn left and right to greet people. But with a slight smile, welcome your customers—that is, your passengers—on my behalf. Offer them pleasant journeys."

IMM ANNOUNCES FUEL SAVINGS TARGET

According to the information provided by IETT General Manager Irfan Demet in his speech, the Sultangazi Garage, which covers an area of approximately 64 decares, allows for the parking of 400 buses. The garage, which cost approximately 180 million liras, includes a service area that allows 8 buses to receive maintenance and repair services simultaneously in a 4,590-square-meter indoor space, as well as a bodywork unit, a paint unit, a washing unit that allows 3 buses to be washed at the same time, and a fuel station, among a series of other units for bus maintenance and repair.

Thanks to the recycling system installed at the Sultangazi Garage, approximately 85 percent of the water used in vehicle washing will be recycled. Due to the flexibility it will create in vehicle and route planning, as well as the parking space, fuel savings of nearly 7.5 million liras per year are targeted, stemming from the reduction in buses traveling to and from the garage. The Sultangazi Garage, construction of which began in March 2023, was completed in a short period of 14 months. The Sultangazi Garage will serve as IETT's 18th largest garage, following the Ikitelli Garage.

News Source: 12punto