Road Transport in Turkey

Road Transport in Turkey: Road transport, starting and destination points in that it allows a direct transport, be faster compared to other types of transport, and especially short-haul has some advantages because it is relatively inexpensive. Another advantage is the rapid functioning of the hierarchy and the chain of command in road transport carried out by the private sector.
On the other hand, road transport is relatively sensitive and fragile in the face of the passenger / km, the cost of the ton / km, the amount of energy it consumes, the type of energy it uses, the environmental pollution caused by it, the high risk of accidents and the developments especially in the international political and economic conjuncture. Due to the fact that it presents a structure, there are some disadvantages. Furthermore, the sector faces some difficulties in itself, particularly in the form of demanding competition and rising costs due to rising oil prices.
Despite this, both the western countries and the country have an increasing trend towards road traffic compared to iron and airways. According to the results of a survey conducted across the EU countries, there has been a decrease of% 1990 in freight transportation between 1998-43,5 in the period between 19,4 and 2004, while there has been an increase in the ratio of 2001 in road transportation in the same period. A similar trend is also witnessed in our country. According to the statistical data on the sector, as of 150 year, 100 increased by% XNUMX and imported imports increased by% XNUMX compared to XNUMX year.
In this paper, the developments in the international context and background, the current situation in the road transport sector in Turkey has tried to focus on the problems faced by the remedies for them. However, one of the important issues to be considered here is the inability to find exact statistical data on domestic transports as a result of the lack of institutionalization.
Importance and Importance of Road Transportation in Foreign Trade
imbalances in the global plan for road transport is even more pronounced in Turkey. By the end of the year Turkey's foreign trade volume was 2004 160,66 billion USD. Our imports are 97,9 billion and our exports are 63,1 billion USD. Looking at the figures for the first eight months of 2005, foreign trade volume exceeded 121 billion dollars. Except for the trade with overseas countries, a significant portion of our foreign trade is realized by road and the share and amount of the transport over the highway is increasing every year in parallel with the increase in foreign trade. 3,5 years, Turkey's economy with an average transit transport international road transport made of billions of US dollars are stated to provide foreign exchange.
95,2 of the passenger transportation within the country is done by road. This rate is% 89 in the USA and% 79 in EU countries. Road use rate in the area of ​​freight transportation is around 76,1 in our country. This rate is% 69,5 in the USA and% 45 in EU countries.
The History of Highway Infrastructure in Turkey
Turkey's total length of the road network has taken over from the Ottoman period 18.365 kilometers. However, it is not possible to compare this with today's highway standards. Because, almost all of this was a path that resembled a path built from the idea of ​​turning the wheel. There has not been a concrete improvement in the road network since the 1950s have been given priority in transportation by rail and sea. It is a fact that the world economic crisis in the 1930s and the effects of the Second World War. 1 In March 1950, with the establishment of the General Directorate of Highways, a new era has started for our highway history. The outline of the total 61.500 kilometer road network, including today's state and provincial roads, was formed after this period. However, it is difficult to compare these roads with today's road standards. As a matter of fact, the inadequacy of the existing network has emerged by the 1970s and it has been tried to expand both the network and the standards with a second wave road construction. Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul Ring Road, Istanbul-Izmit Express Road construction took place in this period.
At the 1980, kar 1983-1993 Transportation Master Plan ′ was set up in order to improve the transportation infrastructure in a balanced manner in order to eliminate the negativities in the excessive use of highway and increase in the number of vehicles. Unfortunately, the aforementioned plan was removed from the shelves and the highway-based highway construction was adopted. Today, the construction of the existing 1881 motorway network has started in our country. However, in view of the fact that the existing network is too short in the face of excessive use of the highway, the construction of high-cost highway has been abandoned and instead, in the beginning of 2000, double-way and double-way road construction has been adopted as a lower cost, double way or express way in the public. The method followed here is essentially the improvement of the existing network, which consists of one-way one-off, by rearranging vehicle traffic to allow for double round-trip. In this context, it is foreseen that the standards of the total 15.000 kilometer road network will be improved and transformed into a double departure-double. In this context, 2003 was developed in 1600, and in 2004, 2000 was developed as a standard for the development of the highway.
Turkey, despite making a very important part of transport with still more highways, due to unplanned and unscheduled way to focus on growth and road of the transport sector, it is difficult to say that reaching the standards of EU countries an important part of our country road network.
As of September, 2005 reached its current number of trucks / trucks 667,436 registered in Turkey. The number of buses is 160.241. The number of passenger cars exceeds 5,659,624 today. Thus, along with other land vehicles, the number of motor vehicles registered in our country has passed 10,875,629.
Development of International Road Freight Transportation
In our country, international freight transport was first carried out in 1968 as a state enterprise under the name of Frintaş, and started to carry fresh vegetables and fruits to Iraq and Iran. Afterwards, cargo was carried to other Middle Eastern countries by trucks from the ports of Mersin, İskenderun, Trabzon and Samsun.
As a result of the increase in trade between the West and the Middle East countries after the 1970s, the private sector was involved. In parallel with the export jump in 1980s, the number of international transport companies has increased significantly. In this context, the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War, which followed, adversely affected the transportation sector, and many carriers turned to the domestic market. The dissolution of the Eastern Bloc has created new opportunities for our carriers. The civil war that resulted in the dissolution of Yugoslavia led to the reshaping of transport routes to the West.
As of the end of 2004, the number of international transports carried out by Turkish transporters increased to 1.079.859. The number of 2 Certificates that allow international transportation is 1.150. The following is the breakdown of vehicles used in international transport:
Tractor unit and trailer: 29,300
Trailers and semitrailers: 33,425
Truck: 5,555
Here, it is possible to talk about the excess capacity in general as in domestic transportation. International transport is affected very quickly by economic and political developments. Considering the increasing number of vehicles on Turkey's position, rather than the emphasis must be given to the improvement of standards and other technical equipment. To this end, it is considered appropriate to strengthen the competitiveness of the sector and to increase efficiency, to monitor new developments, to establish more financially stronger and more efficient companies, to open offices abroad, to establish partnerships with foreign companies and to deepen institutionalization.
Passenger Transportation
It is difficult to reach the exact statistical data in this area. However, the total 573 company is known to operate in the field of intercity passenger transport. The number of companies carrying international transportation is 144. The number of buses used for intercity passenger transportation is 9,500. Seat capacity is more than 400.000. The number of buses used in international passenger transport is 1416. The seat capacity is 68.000.
Legal Ground
Turkey, although the international plan, subject to certain conventions related to transportation, the national legislation in this area could create up to 2003 years. However, in the same period, many international conventions were signed. In the national plan, it was tried to be filled with the regulations issued during the period in response to the need for space in this area. In this regard, the international transport regulations in Turkey would be correct to say that the advent of faster than national legislation.
In this context, the Transport Act, which came into force in July of the 2003 and the Transport Regulation introduced in February of 2004 in February, include institutionalization, discipline and promotion of professional competence.
The law aimed at ensuring that the transporters operate in a competitive environment, taking care to protect the environment economically, serially, conveniently and safely, taking care of the public interest. In this respect, road safety, the loading criteria, environmental pollution reduction and work hours are to be improved.
In the preparation of the law, Turkey's EU membership process has been taken into consideration. In order to discipline entry and exit to the transport market in a way that is compatible with the EU acquis, the establishment of a small number of multi-vehicle companies is prioritized instead of many small vehicles. To achieve this, certain criteria have been introduced; for instance, the criteria for respect for dignity, professional and financial qualifications are based. In addition to the aforementioned criteria, in addition to the compulsory road transport liability insurance, compulsory seat / personal accident insurance is required. Additional criteria for the technical competences of vehicles have been introduced. In addition to the provisions on the development of social security, the law also includes provisions that encourage the development of management with a series of sanctions.
The law also imposed additional duties on the General Directorate of Land Transport of the Ministry of Transport. In this respect, it would be appropriate to develop the existing structure of KUGM and to supplement it with additional personnel.
However, some aspects of the aforementioned law have been criticized by sector representatives and employees. According to the representatives of the sector, the fact that the Transport Law and Regulation has come into force is generally seen as positive, but there are some questions. It is possible to summarize some objections of the sector representatives regarding the new legislation as follows:
1. In the transport sector in Turkey will represent a lot of business related operations are no civil society organizations. This situation makes it difficult to implement some provisions of the Road Transport Law and Regulation.
2. The purchase fee is high for transportation. (C-2 Procurement fee has been determined as 100 billion TL initially. In particular, the person / truck owners operating in domestic cargo transportation do not agree with the purchase of authorization certificate.
3. Criminal sanctions were imposed on the work of transport sector employees.
On the international plan, Turkey, sixteen pertaining to transportation is a party to six of the most important convention. (AETR, CMR, TIR, 1956 Interim Accord Convention on Commercial Vehicles, 1954 Temporary Import Convention of Non-Commercial Vehicles dated AGTC). The most important of these is the International Transport Convention (Transport International sur Route-TIR). The TIR Convention includes technical regulations on international transport. The AETR convention regulates the working conditions of the transport sector. Turkey has recently signed the contract for the transport of hazardous substances. The number of multilateral contracts concluded in this way was seven. Turkey also Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is also included in the process.
Besides Turkey, the country has signed a bilateral plan with 53 contract of carriage. The Joint Transport Commission Meetings (PNC) formed within the framework of these agreements are held at the level of experts. In the meetings, the problems and difficulties encountered by the carriers of the two countries are determined firstly and the measures are taken to ensure that these problems are eliminated. In this framework, the quota for transition documents has become one of the most important issues in the recent KUK meetings. However, it is not possible to apply reciprocity to our country due to the number difference between the bilateral or transit deliveries in this area. This situation causes a narrowing of the movement area of ​​our country.
Institutionalization and Efficiency Level in Road Transport
In our country, our transporters are organized in the national plan as cooperatives. In this context, 400 units of various sizes were established. It is difficult to say that they are active. There is a need for effective organization in order to transfer the problems of sector employees to the public and political circles, to ensure coordination and to provide better working conditions. The size of the financial forces of the institutions in this sector provides them with the convenience to transfer their problems and expectations to the political circles. As a requirement of the conditions and solidarity brought by the intense competition and transportation abroad, the institutionalization in the international transport sector has improved. The industry has been institutionalized under the Association of International Transporters (UND) and the Ro-Ro Transporters Association (RODER). Both associations are highly effective in eliminating the various problems of their members and protecting their rights with their existing structure. For transport to EU countries, there are a series of benchmarks according to the technical characteristics of the vehicle and the operating conditions of the driver. They are doing successful studies in terms of vocational education.
From the point of view of efficiency in terms of the subject, as emphasized in the section above, land transportation is low in both passenger and freight transportation. This is mainly because the number of vehicles is more than the need. There is excess capacity in the transportation sector. One of the main reasons for this is that the institutionalization in the area of ​​cargo transportation is very low in the national plan. This sector is dominated by the carrier trades operating in the individual plan. There is a crushing competition in the sector. A similar situation applies to passenger transport by bus. It can be said that the sector works at full capacity during the Bayram and Hajj periods. This situation prevents the development of the transportation sector. Due to the destructive competitive environment in which the transportation sector is located, the buyer determines the transportation prices instead of the sector itself. The carrier, who is in trouble to save the day, often has to settle for the price offered by the buyer. This prevents new investments, and also has a negative impact on traffic safety due to the inadequacy of the maintenance and services of the vehicles.
Alternative Methods in Transportation
As mentioned above, the global imbalance in terms of road use is more pronounced in our country. Moreover, this imbalance is increasing every year. This situation is contrary to the energy opportunities of our country. The amount and standard of road in our country is behind the EU countries. However, the lack of infrastructure and operation in the railway and maritime operation has led to more burden on the road, which is essentially insufficient.
Experts in the EU, particularly in the EU environment, have begun to focus on the search for a more balanced development of the transportation sector between iron, water and land, in order to prevent the transport sector from being over-driven in the extreme way due to developing trade. As a result of the studies carried out in this direction, instead of completely preventing the transportation of freight by road, it is observed that in cooperation with the road transport sector, in addition to increasing the railway and maritime modes, freight transportation, which includes multiple modes and in short, combined transportation has begun to be encouraged.
Similar to passenger transport, public transport has been promoted instead of individual transport. Here, iron and sea routes and air transport are tried to be prioritized.
In fact, the EU's transport policy document entitled de White Paper 2001, Time to Decide ucu, which is the transport policy of the EU for the 2010-2001 years, will not be able to develop healthy transport systems in the EU as long as there is no balance between transport modes. not to prevent the development of road transport, on the contrary, by using other modes of transport, it is also necessary to create a balance between highway and other modes and thus contribute to the healthy development of the highway.
This situation is thought to be valid for our country. Furthermore, Turkey, the peninsula is therefore advantageous position in terms of maritime transport. In addition, there is a substantial rail network in Turkey. It is evaluated that these opportunities should be utilized especially in domestic and international transportation.
Major Issues in International Transport
statements within Turkey faced in land transportation in the country, unfortunately, is reflected in the large proportion of transportation for abroad. Turkey has become the trade and in particular performs a significant portion of exports out of the highway.
Turkey is a bridge linking Europe to Asia as geographic location. As such, it is located on the major international road transport routes, particularly the North-South Europe (E and TEM), the European-Caucasus-Asian Corridor (TRACECA). Despite this, the number of foreign vehicles passing through our country and the number of Turkish vehicles carrying abroad have a significant imbalance.
Each country wishes to increase the share of the national transport sector in transit to the third country through its own country or country, no matter how strong the transportation sector of the other party is. On the other hand, our carriers demand that free trade rights be granted for transitions from these countries or at least increase the recognized transit quotas for increased trade. However, it is not always possible to realize this in the present conditions. Countries provide a series of benchmarks for the transitions of foreign carriers to protect the national transport sector and to take more share in international transport, to compensate for environmental protection and the deterioration of the road infrastructure. Our carriers carrying out transport to all countries have to struggle with all these difficulties in all countries.
Due to the fact that a significant portion of our foreign trade is done over the highway, clogs that occur occasionally in this area may adversely affect our trade and economy. To avoid this, transport routes must always be kept open. However, besides the political conjuncture, problems may be encountered from time to time due to the reasons that may arise from the attitude of the country authorities on the transition route. Due to the gap between the number of foreign vehicles passing through our country and the number of vehicles transporting to foreign countries, it seems difficult to implement reciprocity in this area. In this respect, it is important to carry the transportation in terms of the security of our foreign trade with more stable methods. It would not be wrong to state that our country is continuously demanding from the authorities of other countries in terms of transportation.
In 2004, the number of total exportations carried out by Turkish vehicles has reached 833,618. The number of exports carried out by foreign vehicles was 102,779. In the same year, the number of imported transports made by Turkish vehicles was 246,241, while the number of imported transports made by foreign vehicles was realized as 82.442. Thus, the number of international transports carried out by Turkish transporters has reached 1,079,859. According to the 2001 year, these figures correspond to the% 150 increase in the total exports of Turkish vehicles and the% 46 increase in the export of foreign vehicles. Similarly, the number of Turkish vehicles in imports is% 150 and the number of foreign vehicles is% 100.
In this context, it is possible to sort the main routes and important points of departure in the international transportation as follows.
- Routes for Europe and North - Western Gates:
1. Kapikule-Bulgaria-Serbia-Montenegro-Croatia-Austria
2. Kapıkule Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria
-Ukraine-Russian Federation
3. Istanbul Port-Italy (Ro-Ro ships), (Port of Trieste) - Europe
4. Ipsala- Greece- Italy (Ro-Ro ships) (Brindizi / Trieste) - Europe
5. Cesme- Italy (Ro-Ro ships) - Europe
- Eastern routes Eastern gates:
6. Gürbulak Border Gate-Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan
7. Sarp Border Gate-Georgia-Russian Federation
8. Ports of Trabzon / Samsun / Zonguldak-Russia (Ro-Ro ships)
- Southbound routes:
9. Cilvegözü-Syria-Middle East countries
10. Habur Border Gate-Iraq.
Our carriers face some problems in the transports on these routes. These problems are similar to each other. From time to time they can reach the point of crisis. Difficulties encountered in this area, visa issues, problems of transit documents, customs and local legislation of the country in question can be listed as the difficulties.
Based on the information received from land transport sector representatives, it is possible to sort these issues as follows:
1. According to the Transport, Turkey is the only party to the seven major international plan 16 facilitate transport convention. Being a party to the other nine agreements in this area will bring significant convenience to transporters
2. Visa problem: The difficulties faced by the Schengen Treaty and the parties and visas are similar. There are difficulties and delays in the visa imposition in general. Apart from this, although the visa regime is respected, the problems caused by the different interpretations of the border authorities leave our drivers helpless at the border gates.
3. Transition quotas, which are recognized by foreign countries for our carriers, and especially free pass quotas are insufficient. In spite of the attempts to increase the amount of this and the compensatory oluştur bonus sı mechanisms and the UBAK quotas for the transport of trains to some countries, this requirement cannot be met.
4. There are difficulties arising from the legislation in the country and the implementation of the local authorities in the transitional or bilateral plan. This is one of the issues that our drivers suffer most. Complaints about this issue are generally due to measurement and weighing practices related to vehicles, arbitrary practices related to customs and traffic legislation, frequent changes of rules and the high level of tolls and tolls.
As a result, in our country, land transportation in a different way than in other countries has a characteristic not seen in any economy of the world in terms of both the number of vehicles, the volume of employment and the added value it provides to the economy. However, the new developments in the land transportation sector, in the future, within the framework of the EU accession process, the new regulations, the measures to be taken and the increasing competition environment will make the solution of the problems of the Turkish road transport sector, which is in a difficult situation, further complicate the negative impacts on our country's economy. will be evaluated.
Turkey's position rather than to increase the number of vehicles in mind, it is appropriate to improve standards and other technical equipment is considered. For this purpose, it is deemed appropriate to increase competitiveness and efficiency, to follow new developments, to create more financially stronger and more efficient companies, to open offices abroad, to establish partnerships with foreign companies and to deepen institutionalization.
Moreover, international transportation is affected very quickly by the conjuncture due to economic and political developments. In addition to the concern of preserving the market share of the sector with protective practices and precautions, as well as the emergence of the maximalist demands in the countries that have close relations with the highway transportation, this leads to similar and similar reflexes. Transition documents, the return load and the third country transport document and the problems experienced in tolls are chronic. It is no longer a compulsory requirement for the Ministry of Transportation to re-establish the policy to be followed in this area in coordination with the sector and other relevant institutions.