Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality held a meeting with IETT officials for the ‘2024 IETT District Municipality Meetings’.

Istanbul Electric Tramway and Tunnel Operations General Directorate (IETT) and Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality officials discussed projects to make transportation in the district more comfortable and faster as part of the ‘2024 IETT District Municipality Meetings’.

Istanbul Electric Tramway and Tunnel Operations General Directorate (IETT) and Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality officials came together to discuss projects to improve transportation in the district within the framework of the ‘2024 IETT District Municipality Meetings’. The meeting, held at the Gaziosmanpaşa Cultural and Arts Center, was attended by Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe, Deputy Mayor Bülent Kıdık, IETT General Manager İrfan Demet, IETT Deputy General Managers Şükrü Yılmaz and Onur Temürlenk, IETT Coordinator Sinan Öztürk, and Transportation Planning Department Head Yusuf Limon as speakers.

The meeting, which was followed by municipal department heads, council members, representatives of civil society organizations, muhtars, and many citizens, addressed problems, demands, and expectations regarding public transportation. The vision of participatory management and common sense was evaluated for the short, medium, and long-term solutions that need to be produced in the district.

‘We felt the need to solve citizens’ problems by prioritizing them and consulting with you’

In his opening speech, Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Bahçetepe said, “In this valuable work, we discussed what we can do together with the valuable managers of our metropolitan municipality based on the suggestions from you and the problems identified by our municipality. We felt the need to solve the transportation problems of our district by prioritizing the neighborhoods where needs arise, prioritizing citizens’ problems, and consulting with you. We gained the opportunity to hold this meeting together with the contributions of our IETT General Manager. I thank him very much in this regard. I also thank our Metropolitan Mayor and our institution managers for the services they have provided to Istanbul.”

‘Our goal is to resolve the most urgent issues in Gaziosmanpaşa before schools open’

Speaking at the meeting, IETT General Manager İrfan Demet stated, “IETT, with its 153 years of experience, operates 832 lines daily, making 62,000 trips, and carrying nearly 5 million passengers. In other words, we transport passengers equivalent to the population of a country in one day. We cover 1 million 250 thousand kilometers a day. This is equivalent to circling the world 32 times. With over 20,000 personnel, we serve Istanbul 24/7. We will discuss how we can contribute to the transportation of Gaziosmanpaşa here together. Our goal is to resolve the most urgent issues in Gaziosmanpaşa before schools open. There are definitely issues that will be resolved in the future. But we want to identify urgent issues, take steps on them, and continue our way in the best way possible by resolving other issues as well,” he said.

Transportation Planning Department Head Yusuf Limon delivered a presentation

After the speeches, Transportation Planning Department Head Yusuf Limon gave a presentation about the number of passengers transported in Gaziosmanpaşa, the lines used, the lines planned to be added, and the ongoing and planned public transportation projects in the district. Limon stated that they plan to ease public transportation in the district with the New Neighborhood Integration Project they will implement, mentioning the establishment of inter-neighborhood integration, the possibility of reaching central areas with a single ticket, service and fare equity between neighborhoods, reduction of vehicle occupancy, and increased frequency of trips.