Izmir Metropolitan Municipality ESHOT General Directorate; The International Public Transport Association hosted the technical trip organized in cooperation with the European Bank and SOLUTIONSplus. Foreign public transporters made examinations at ESHOT, which established Turkey's first electric bus fleet; Learned about business processes.
ESHOT General Directorate, which put Turkey's first electric bus fleet into service in 2017, hosted the delegation of the International Union of Public Transporters (UITP). A total of 25 representatives from UITP member institutions and organizations from different countries participated in the "Electric Bus Procurement, Planning and Financing Training and Technical Trip" program, which was held with the joint organization of UITP Academy, European Bank and SOLUTIONSplus.
In the training seminar, ESHOT Transportation Planning Department Head Dr. Hakan Uzun made a presentation to the delegation headed by UITP Eurasia President and UITP Academy Senior Advisor Feyzullah Gündoğdu about the electric bus supply process and planning of the institution. Transferring his ESHOT experience from the tender stage to the post-warranty process, Uzun said, “The data we have obtained shows that electric buses are much more efficient and environmentally friendly than fuel-powered buses.”
At the meeting; Feyzullah Gündoğdu, President of UITP Eurasia and Senior Advisor to UITP Academy, Public Transportation Consultant Josep E. Garcia Alemany from Spain, Bozankaya Yiğit Belin, Head of Business Development, Sales, Tender, Project Contracts and Public Relations, and Ahmed El-Kafoury, Director of Cairo, Egypt Transportation Unit, also made presentations.
They also examined solar power plants
On their second day in İzmir, the delegation visited ESHOT General Directorate Gediz Workshop. The delegation, hosted by ESHOT General Manager Erhan Bey, Deputy General Managers Kader Sertpoyraz and Kerim Özer, was informed about the Solar Power Plant (GES) installed on the roofs of workshop and garage buildings, as well as the electric bus fleet. The delegation also visited the laboratory where the measurement, control and reverse engineering works required by the ESHOT General Directorate for the business are carried out. ESHOT General Manager Erhan Bey underlined that they are one of the institutions with the highest public transportation experience in Turkey. Stating that ESHOT, with its 80-year history, is also an 'Izmir brand', Mr.
“Pioneering and innovative culture”
“ESHOT is an institution that has been the leading actor of the public transportation adventure that started with horse-drawn trams in İzmir, since the first half of the 1940s. It has a strong memory and an established culture. At the core of this culture is 'innovation and leadership' in line with the goal of 'always being better'. Activities such as producing buses for the first time in Turkey, switching to electronic fare system for the first time, establishing the first electric bus fleet, realizing the first SPP built by a public transportation institution; They are the most concrete examples of the culture I am talking about. We will continue to be a pioneer and innovative in the way of providing public transportation services that meet the needs of the age and meet the needs of the city at the maximum scale. We are proud to welcome UITP members who are aware of this aspect of us in our city and to contribute to their work.”