Well I just got back from a week in Mexico City talking about sustainable mobility. Surprise!
All mega cities are struggling with the issue. Istanbul is interesting in that transport is being addressed in a rather schizophrenic manner. On the one hand there are excellent initiatives such as AKBIL (do any of you have one?) otherwise known as the smart ticket in transport circles. Istanbul was one of the early implementers. Also, the Bostanci-Kabatas-Funicular-Metro is a positive example of an integrated network of modes. Then they come up with brilliant $%$@##%$#$#%$ "7 tunnels for 7 hills" idea; and the 140 over/underpasses around the city. The officials claim that until they get enough of a mass transit network in place they have to continue to build up the road infrastructure to accomodate the additional 600 vehicles that enter traffic daily.

Well this week several speakers from all over emphatically stated that you CANNOT do both and be successful. At some point you need to decide if this is to be a city for cars or for people. Personally I would like to see this become a city for people, which means dedicating the resources to a high quality mass transit network.

There was a question about what can be implemented in the short term. I agree totally that marine transit is underutilised. The city is aware of this and increasing service, though I think they could be more aggressive in increasing the number of routes and service frequency. Also, there is a form of mass transit called bus rapid transit (BRT) or metrobus. It is a system with dedicated bus lanes (that is only one aspoect of it) that can be quickly implemented and at a fraction of the cost of rail-based transport. (Global numbers are $100M/km of metro and $5M/km for metrobus/BRT.) This system is starting to get serious attention from cities all over the world. Personally I think it is important in that it offers cities a viable alternative (low cost and effective) between developing the road infrastructure or committing to an expensive rail-based network. It is an idea we are working on here in istanbul. (I will let you know how it comes out.)

Regarding pollution, as I said we will be conducting an emission inventory, in partnership with the city, for 3 weeks next month. This will tell us what the situation is quantitatively. What are the pollutants, how much of them is there? What are the sources?

Once we have this information, the plan is to develop a portfolio of public policy and technology-based solutions that are both cost effective and effective in mitigating emissions.

This is such a fascinating subject, and we have onloy begun to scratch the surface. For example we haven't touched on the issue of social equity and transport, etc.

Sorry this ended up being so long.........

Well I just got back from a week in Mexico City talking about sustainable mobility. Surprise!
All mega cities are struggling with the issue. Istanbul is interesting in that transport is being addressed in a rather schizophrenic manner. On the one hand there are excellent initiatives such as AKBIL (do any of you have one?) otherwise known as the smart ticket in transport circles. Istanbul was one of the early implementers. Also, the Bostanci-Kabatas-Funicular-Metro is a positive example of an integrated network of modes. Then they come up with brilliant $%$@##%$#$#%$ "7 tunnels for 7 hills" idea; and the 140 over/underpasses around the city. The officials claim that until they get enough of a mass transit network in place they have to continue to build up the road infrastructure to accomodate the additional 600 vehicles that enter traffic daily.

Well this week several speakers from all over emphatically stated that you CANNOT do both and be successful. At some point you need to decide if this is to be a city for cars or for people. Personally I would like to see this become a city for people, which means dedicating the resources to a high quality mass transit network.

There was a question about what can be implemented in the short term. I agree totally that marine transit is underutilised. The city is aware of this and increasing service, though I think they could be more aggressive in increasing the number of routes and service frequency. Also, there is a form of mass transit called bus rapid transit (BRT) or metrobus. It is a system with dedicated bus lanes (that is only one aspoect of it) that can be quickly implemented and at a fraction of the cost of rail-based transport. (Global numbers are $100M/km of metro and $5M/km for metrobus/BRT.) This system is starting to get serious attention from cities all over the world. Personally I think it is important in that it offers cities a viable alternative (low cost and effective) between developing the road infrastructure or committing to an expensive rail-based network. It is an idea we are working on here in istanbul. (I will let you know how it comes out.)

Regarding pollution, as I said we will be conducting an emission inventory, in partnership with the city, for 3 weeks next month. This will tell us what the situation is quantitatively. What are the pollutants, how much of them is there? What are the sources?

Once we have this information, the plan is to develop a portfolio of public policy and technology-based solutions that are both cost effective and effective in mitigating emissions.

This is such a fascinating subject, and we have onloy begun to scratch the surface. For example we haven't touched on the issue of social equity and transport, etc.

Sorry this ended up being so long.........

By the way, I am preparing a portfolio of photos to show how the road infrastructure is creating a negative impact on the urban scene. The best example of this is Valide Sultan Mosque in Aksaray, a beautiful structure which is marred by an ugly overpass that surrounds it on 3 sides.

If you have any examples of road infrastructure "uglifying" the cityscape that you would like to share, I would be most grateful. And if you can include location, I can take some photos and add it to my collection.

For those of you who were complaining about Turkish drivers, look at this little piece on italians. I thought you might enjoy it. I must confess it looks a lot like "LifeinTurkey."

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/flash/

Maybe there is hope yet for Istanbul....my Lise 10 students told me they now have, along with Military Education, a compulsory course in Driver Education or maybe they called it 'traffic' education??!!

Nah, Italy's much safer than Istanbul / Turkey... I was there for 5 years so have a reasonable perspective on this.

GB, Hi! Don't believe we've met! Don't get your drift .....although I did watch the video on EU and italy on this post!!! Do you mean they're safer in Italy 'cos they have driver ed. courses???

Just adding my 10kr on Ulas's post, which implied that it was more dangerous to drive in Italy....

No, we've not met but I'm ocasionally allowed to frequent Citir, provided that a monkey is in attendance.

Is the monkey necessary to get you thru the traffic jams on the way to Citir??....(Just to get back to the topic!!)....

BTW: Did anyone see the TESEV research in Sabah about how long Istanbullu spend commuting??
8%: less than 30 minutes daily
16%: 30 - 60 minutes
29%: 1 - 2 hours
22%: 2 - 3 hours
23%: more than 3 hours....
Ulas, if you are still there, do you know how these stats compare to large comparable cities with poor underground public transport systems- say Mexico City, Manila, Bangkok, maybe Bombay??

Would rather start a new thread but I'm new on this site and don't know how . . .

I'm looking for a bicycle. Yessirree, two wheels, no motor. I'm not looking to be a martyr in Istanbul, but still, I gotta be me - going from cycling 365 days a year for 5 years in Montreal, to zilch for the last two months is killing me!! I refuse to become a taxi whore as well (not that I really have a choice, as of today, I have 0 funds and 0 credit left and still no job).

Anyone know of a cheap/free bike in Istanbul up for grabs or would graciously let me borrow there's until I can find/afford one of my own?

Would rather start a new thread but I'm new on this site and don't know how . . .

I'm looking for a bicycle. Yessirree, two wheels, no motor. I'm not looking to be a martyr in Istanbul, but still, I gotta be me - going from cycling 365 days a year for 5 years in Montreal, to zilch for the last two months is killing me!! I refuse to become a taxi whore as well (not that I really have a choice, as of today, I have 0 funds and 0 credit left and still no job).

Anyone know of a cheap/free bike in Istanbul up for grabs or would graciously let me borrow there's until I can find/afford one of my own?

Would rather start a new thread but I'm new on this site and don't know how . . .

I'm looking for a bicycle. Yessirree, two wheels, no motor. I'm not looking to be a martyr in Istanbul, but still, I gotta be me - going from cycling 365 days a year for 5 years in Montreal, to zilch for the last two months is killing me!! I refuse to become a taxi whore as well (not that I really have a choice, as of today, I have 0 funds and 0 credit left and still no job).

Anyone know of a cheap/free bike in Istanbul up for grabs or would graciously let me borrow there's until I can find/afford one of my own?

Would rather start a new thread but I'm new on this site and don't know how . . .

I'm looking for a bicycle. Yessirree, two wheels, no motor. I'm not looking to be a martyr in Istanbul, but still, I gotta be me - going from cycling 365 days a year for 5 years in Montreal, to zilch for the last two months is killing me!! I refuse to become a taxi whore as well (not that I really have a choice, as of today, I have 0 funds and 0 credit left and still no job).

Anyone know of a cheap/free bike in Istanbul up for grabs or would graciously let me borrow there's until I can find/afford one of my own?