“Cooperation Protocol on the Expansion of Urban Cycling Transportation System” was signed between the General Directorate of EGO and the Ankara City Council (AKK). With this protocol, the AKK Cycling Council will also support all the studies and projects to be carried out for the dissemination of bicycle transportation in the Capital.
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality continues to implement environmentally friendly and sustainable transportation projects, one by one, that aim to reduce carbon emissions and the use of motor vehicles.
The “Cooperation Protocol on the Expansion of the Urban Cycling Transportation System” between the General Directorate of EGO and the Ankara City Council (AKK) was signed at a ceremony. To the protocol ceremony signed by EGO General Manager Nihat Alkaş and AKK Chairman Halil İbrahim Yılmaz; EGO Deputy General Manager Zafer Tekbudak, EGO Deputy General Managers Emin Güre and Halit Özdilek, as well as Corporate Development Department Head Ayten Gök, AKK Executive Board Vice Presidents Prof. Savas Zafer Sahin, Dr. Süleyman Basa and members of the Bicycle Council attended.
ALKAŞ: “WITH THE APPROACH OF PARTICIPANT DEMOCRACY, WE RECEIVE THE OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS REGARDING THE CYCLE”
EGO General Manager Nihat Alkaş, who announced that the electric bike sharing system, which was put into practice as a pilot project, will be tested by volunteers who are members of the AKK Bicycle Council, gave the following information about the signed protocol:
“As a part of the participatory democracy approach, we try to get the opinions and suggestions of all stakeholders related to cycling. The electric bike sharing system, which was put into practice as a pilot project, will be tested for three months by the bicycle volunteers of 110 members of the AKK Bicycle Council. This test study is in the nature of a feasibility study for the implementation of the bike sharing system planned to be established in our city, and the data to be obtained will be used in the development of the bike sharing system and will form the basis of our 'SMART Ankara' project. With the completion of our SMART Ankara project, the bike sharing system in our city will be actively offered to our citizens. Today, we have gathered here to sign the protocol prepared in order to determine the procedures and principles regarding the support of the projects to be carried out and the projects to be carried out for the dissemination and promotion of the bicycle mode of transportation in urban transportation by the Ankara City Council Cycling Council. While determining the bicycle transportation policies, we will continue to take the opinions of our non-governmental organizations in the future, as we have done so far. We will work hand in hand to expand the bicycle transportation system in our city. With this cooperation and solidarity, I believe that we will make much better and bigger projects for bicycle transportation in Ankara.”
YILMAZ: “WE WILL CONvince those who claim that ANKARA DOES NOT HAVE A GEOGRAPHY SUITABLE FOR BICYCLE USE”
Halil İbrahim Yılmaz, Chairman of the Executive Board of AKK, stated that they are ready to take responsibility in all projects to be implemented in order to spread the use of bicycles throughout the city, and said:
“Knowing that Ankara is Anatolia's gateway to the world, it was the biggest dream of the Ankara City Council to be the leader of the EGO General Directorate, to put a will before the western civilization and to raise the awareness of the city administration on this issue, and we are witnessing this dream today. Within the scope of the project, charging units of vehicles providing short-term use of electric scooters were also placed in Ankara. Therefore, testing 25 of these bicycles under the responsibility of the Ankara City Council Bicycle Council has made us very happy in terms of trust in us. We will follow up the process to do what is necessary. After the positive results, they announced that the number of bicycles would be increased to 480. The support of this project by the European Development Bank Fund will also have a facilitating effect on other issues that require continuity in terms of international players' interest in our projects. This is a study that will convince those who claim that Ankara does not have a geography suitable for cycling. So a bike will even go to Dikmen. We think that when you can travel by bicycle without having to leave your home by car, public transportation in Ankara will prevent the cost of loss due to wrong urbanization. Increasing the use of bicycles, reducing the number of vehicles and reducing carbon will also manage the process of using urban resources correctly.
AKK WILL SUPPORT BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
Two projects, SMART Ankara and EIT Urban Mobility, supported by the European Union, for the establishment of bicycle transportation infrastructure in Ankara continue to be carried out by the EGO General Directorate.
Finally, the electric bike sharing system, which was put into practice as a pilot project, will be tested for three months by 110 bicycle volunteers who are members of the AKK Bicycle Council. With the completion of the project, which forms the basis of the SMART Ankara project, the bicycle sharing system in the city will be actively put into the service of the citizens of the Capital.
AKK Bicycle Council Vice President Meltem Alkaş Görür stated that the bike lovers were happy thanks to the signed protocol and said, “I am very excited. As a bicycle lover and user from Ankara, we have been dreaming of today for a very long time. First of all, we would like to thank our president for the work he has put into practice on this issue. It is our biggest dream for Ankara to be among the modern capitals”.
Be the first to comment