The Head of European Union Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Christian Berger, who came to Izmir for the European Mobility Week “Car-Free City Day” events that are organized by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, visited Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu. The Head of EC Cabinet Matej Zakonjsek, the General Secretary to the Turkish Association of Municipalities Hayrettin Güngör and the General Secretary to Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Dr. Buğra Gökçe and the Committee Member of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Muzaffer Tunçağ were present at this visit and it is highlighted that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is one of the first Turkish municipalities that participated to the European Mobility Week events organized to promote sustainable transportation alternatives.

“What really matters for us is that Izmir has participated to the ‘Car-Free City Day’ events and that it is one of the first cities. Because Izmir stands out with marine transportation alternatives” said the Head of European Union Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Christian Berger.

The Head of EC Cabinet Matej Zakonjsek underlined that 25 cities in Turkey organize the European Mobility Week events and Izmir took part in these events for the first time and added: “Investing more in roads for more number of vehicles is not a sustainable option. We must diversify the types of transportation available in the cities for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We promote using bicycles as a mode of transportation. We are glad that this option is apparently available in Izmir”.

The ultimate goal is to reduce carbon emission
The Mayor Kocaoğlu noted that they signed the EU Covenant of Mayors for reducing carbon emissions in the city by 2020 and the municipality has been making several investments in line with this goal and added: “In 14.5 years, we extended a 11-kilometer rail system to a 180-kilometer rail system. The daily passenger capacity was 70 thousand but today it is 800 – 850 thousand passengers. Our rail system network will increase up to 252 kilometers and this will greatly ease the transportation. Furthermore, we are planning 72-73-kilometer long metro-commuter’s train investments. We organize shuttle buses for towing away vehicles parked on the side of the road and taking them to the parking garages. We construct bicycle paths for promoting cycling as a mode of transportation and we offer transit transportation on buses rather than long bus lines. We leveraged our sea transportation options with new ferries”.

The Mayor Kocaoğlu noted that they bought 20 electrical buses to reduce the carbon emission caused by the urban transportation and the local administrations have difficulty in investing in electrical buses because of high prices asked for the electrical buses.