The 364 buses that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality added to its fleet by signing the largest one-time purchase in Turkey to bring urban transportation to modern standards were put into service with a ceremony held in Fair Izmir. CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, “We made four different openings today. It has a total investment cost of over 1 billion TL. In other words, the President invested over 1 billion liras. Tunç Soyer He offered the service of the people of Izmir. Taking 364 buses at once and putting them at the service of the people of Izmir and sharing the savings with Izmir means being accountable to the citizens.” The agreement made during the purchase of 364 new buses had saved İzmir a total of 242 million liras.
İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, which has signed the largest single bus purchase across the country, put into service a total of 570 domestic production buses, 160 of which are articulated and 204 solo, with an investment of 364 million liras, with a ceremony attended by CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. At the historical ceremony at the Fair Izmir, the Clock Tower figure, the symbol of Izmir, was created with some of the vehicles, and “Turkey with Love” was written under it, again with buses. Speaking at the ceremony, CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, “Flowers are blooming inside İzmir. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor is the one who did this. Tunç Soyer. I thank him for his service to the people of Izmir. Today we made four different openings. It has a total investment cost of over 1 billion TL. In other words, the President invested over 1 billion liras. Tunç Soyer He offered the service of the people of Izmir. I am extremely happy. The president is making efforts in all areas, from agriculture to transportation. Buying 364 buses at once and putting them at the service of the people of Izmir, and sharing the savings of 242 million liras with the people of Izmir, provided by the agreement for the purchase, means being accountable to the citizens. The most basic feature of our mayors is to be accountable. Every penny he spends is your money, not theirs.”
“We tripled our social benefits”
Kılıçdaroğlu also touched upon the perception to be created regarding the CHP municipalities and said, “Do not vote for the CHP municipalities before the local elections, they will cut the aid, they will not invest. It was just the opposite. We tripled their social assistance. We protected the honor of our compatriot, we did not make his poverty visible. When we come to power with our friends, we will bring Family Supports Insurance. CHP or not, wherever a child is hungry, wherever a family is suffering from financial difficulties, we will solve the problem. I promise, we will end poverty in the Anatolian geography. In our dormitory, no child will go to bed hungry. We will do this by developing democracy together with the Municipalities and Nation Alliance. We will give you an account of every penny. We will be an example to the whole world in terms of democracy. The whole world will say that the citizens of the Republic of Turkey changed an authoritarian regime through democratic means. 6 million 300 thousand young people will vote for the first time. These young people will go to the polls and bring democracy. I kiss the eyes of all young people. Never despair. The road is near, we will bring down the dictators," he said.
“No one should look for hope elsewhere”
Kılıçdaroğlu concluded his words as follows: “I want votes from all generations. I want votes from every citizen who is in love with democracy. It doesn't matter who they voted for in the past. But now we are at the crossroads. Shall we choose democracy or authoritarian regime? No one should look for hope elsewhere. Bringing Turkey to modern civilization and surpassing it is Atatürk's testament. We will do this with you. You will see, everything will change in the first six months with the Nation Alliance.”
“We have renewed one third of Izmir's bus fleet in just two years”
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer He added, “In the second year of our tenure, after an intense struggle, we purchased the biggest bus in Turkey at once and brought 364 buses to İzmir. During our two-year tenure, we put 83 brand new vehicles into the service of the people of Izmir, together with the 4 buses we previously added to our fleet and 451 buses that will serve our disabled citizens for the first time in Turkey.” Soyer said, “451! This figure corresponds to one-third of the entire bus fleet that carries the people of Izmir from their home to work and brings them together with their loved ones every day. In just two years, we renewed one-third of Izmir's huge bus fleet and put it into the service of our people.”
“We use public resources sparingly”
Saying that he has three basic debts to the people of Izmir: "service", "accountability", "enhancing justice and prosperity", Soyer said, "The 451 buses we have included in our fleet will provide great convenience to our people's transportation in the city. We are increasing the number of flights on infrequent routes with our new fleet. We are further improving the convenience and comfort during transportation. We will continue to ensure that the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality provides services to every back street of the city. Moreover, since our buses are produced with new technologies, we save on the public resources of our people by reducing the fuel costs. Accountability, that is, transparency, is one of the most basic principles of our understanding of serving Izmir. In our five-year Strategic Plan covering the 2020-2024 period, we had targeted the purchase of 500 new buses. I can proudly say that we have achieved 451 percent of this target in two years, with a total of 90 bus purchases.”
242 million savings
Emphasizing that the agreement made while purchasing 364 new buses saves İzmir a total of 242 million liras, Soyer said, “We achieved 103 million liras of this thanks to the VAT exemption that we were able to obtain from the Ministry of Industry and Technology specifically for these buses. We provided the 139 million TL part with the agreement we made with the supplier company. We bought our buses at a price of 139 million liras cheaper than the prices of the State Supply Office, with a contract we made in Turkish lira a year ago. In summary, our buses have provided the residents of İzmir with 242 million TL with the dust of their wheels. I believe that the profitability of this purchase, made by our ESHOT General Directorate on behalf of our Municipality, will inspire the whole of Turkey in the transparent and efficient use of public resources”.
President Soyer also made a final reminder: “The number of female drivers has reached 87. More women will touch Izmir with our 100 female drivers. We will increase the number of female drivers.
“With low fuel consumption, it will not be a burden to the municipality”
Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç said, “As a citizen of İzmir, I follow the works of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality with pride and admiration. Especially during the pandemic period, İzmir continued its leadership in local governments with assertive and courageous works. Izmir Metropolitan and ESHOT decided to make an important investment in urban transportation for the health of the people of Izmir in this difficult period. It strengthened its urban public transportation fleet with the latest 451 new buses. As Otokar, we are proud to accompany these valuable works of İzmir. Otokar buses, designed by Turkish engineers and produced by Turkish workers, are now ready for service to offer the comfort of urban travel worthy of Izmir. Our design award-winning city vehicle will be the new face of transportation in İzmir. It will not be a burden to the municipality with its low operating costs and low fuel consumption.”
Who participated?
CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç SoyerCHP Deputy Chairman Ali Öztunç, CHP Deputy Chairman Seyit Torun, CHP PM member Rıfat Nalbantoğlu, CHP PM member Devrim Barış Çelik, CHP PM member and İzmir Deputy Ednan Arslan, CHP İzmir MPs Atila Sertel, Kamil Okyay Sındır, Tacettin Bayır, Murat Minister, Bedri Serter, CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Deniz Yücel, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Mustafa Özuslu, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Dr. Buğra Gökçe, district mayors and many citizens attended.
The public's income is 242 million liras.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has renewed one third of its bus fleet with the purchases it has made in the last two years. By using public resources efficiently, urban transportation becomes more comfortable and safe with buses that have an environmentally friendly engine infrastructure, are suitable for disabled use, have bicycle carriers and USB ports. If purchased from the State Supply Office, the cost of these buses, which will be purchased for 762 million liras in cash, will be paid in equal installments for 5 years without any debt or interest. When the 18 percent VAT exemption is included, the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality's gain in bus purchases was approximately 242 million TL. In addition, spare parts and maintenance-repair service will be provided free of charge for five years under the contract. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality made a total investment of 647 million liras in the last two years and included them in its fleet of 4 buses, 451 of which were designed to be used by disabled citizens.
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