Almaty delegation explored experience of Istanbul public transportation systems

The study visit was organized by GEF/UNDP project "City Almaty Sustainable Transport" with help of UNDP Turkey. During the visit Kazakhstani delegation examined various case studies on application and optimization of different types of public transport, as well as approaches on integrated urban planning, given the increasing traffic congestion and population growth, the UNDP Kazakhstan said.

The Turkish Municipality side introduced members of the Kazakh delegation the results of the successful integration of the municipal public transport -  buses, light rail transit (LRT), bicycles together with the construction of public parking close to the major hubs, as well as with electronic payment systems for the ride.

In the city of Kayseri (population about 1 million) the delegation had possibility to get insight into the modern system of a light rail transit system (LRT) and the program on creation of 'Kaybis' bicycle collection renting program which is part of the municipality's efforts to make Kayseri into a more environment-friendly city. The LRT line running over 17,8 km was constructed in three years and it serves more than 75 thousand passengers day. "Before public transport was used only by workers and students in Kayseri, but now we see that more and more office workers, public servants use public transport every day to get to work as it became faster and more comfortable" emphasizes Mr. Arif Emecen, project manager on LRT.

In Istanbul, with population more than 18 million people, the municipality develops a system of bus routes, high-speed light rail transit systems, metro, water transport and taxis. The pride of the local authorities are the modern Metrobuses running on a route of 50 kilometers, separated into bands with built transfer stations and virtually with no traffic lights. An introduction of these systems allowed residents to save more than 50 minutes of their travel time each day. The municiplaity tracks the level of satisfaction of public transport services through campaign management, and strives to increase the share of public transport of total traffic in the city.

These business meetings will enable the Almaty City Administration to use international experience in the use of modern technologies in construction of high-speed lines, light-rail systems, in the development of intelligent transportation systems, as well as in the field of planning of the sector of passenger transport in Almaty.