Turkey's largest urban rail system operator, İBB subsidiary METRO ISTANBUL, is opening its stations to brands and entrepreneurs. Serving more than 16 million passengers a day at 189 stations on 2,5 lines, the metro areas are becoming one of Turkey's largest trade centers. The first auction is on August 4th…
METRO ISTANBUL, one of the subsidiaries of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), provides service for 2,5 hours every day at 16 stations and 189 stations with a daily passenger capacity of more than 18 million. Commercial areas and vending machines in the subways, which have a total indoor area of over 1 million square meters, are opened to the business world with tender.
Stating that as Metro Istanbul, they are working to realize the 'Fair, Green, Creative City' vision of IMM in the field of transportation, METRO ISTANBUL General Manager Özgür Soy said, “Fast and economical transportation is the basic right of every citizen. This; When comfort, punctuality and environmentalism are added, rail systems come to the fore. The increase in the use of public transportation, especially the rail system, in urban mobility is accepted as one of the indicators of development all over the world. Our municipality has been making huge investments in the field of rail systems in the last two years. In Istanbul, the construction of 10 metro continues at the same time. We opened 2020 new lines in 2021 and 3,” he said.
“WE WILL BE THE MOST PREFERRED VEHICLE IN ISTANBUL”
Stating that as Metro Istanbul, they are the most preferred public transportation vehicle in Istanbul among the public transportation operators in Istanbul with their 33 years of management experience, General Manager Soy said:
“Our President Ekrem İmamoğlu, 'Big Move in Rail Systems' presentation, talked about the goal of making rail systems the backbone of public transportation. It is very important for Istanbul to prefer low-emission modes of transportation for sustainable urban life. Our goal is not only to be the most preferred public transportation vehicle in Istanbul, but also to be the most preferred vehicle in Istanbul. To ensure that the first choice of Istanbul residents who own private vehicles in urban transportation is the metro. Our goal is to increase the share of the metro in public transportation to 45 percent. We will reach much higher daily passenger numbers. This means that the commercial value of our metro areas will increase day by day. We work for the happiness of Istanbulites. We are aware that every minute spent in Istanbul, one of the world's leading metropolises, is important. From the day we started our duty, we aimed to take the train management one step further. The metro adds speed to the life of Istanbulites, in addition, we are designing the metro areas in such a way that our passengers do not lose even a minute. We manage the metros of Istanbulites with the voice of Istanbulites and improve our service to meet the expectations of this voice. In line with our creative city value; We aim to transform metro areas into living spaces with fast-paced tunnels, crossroads of culture, arts and sports, and solutions where needs can be met.”
OPEN AREAS ARE LEASED BY TENDER
Emphasizing that, as one of the İBB affiliates, they manage the values of the public with honest, fair and transparent service principles in a public unit, Özgür Soy said, “We never forget that we have to give account to the public without compromising these principles. A while ago, 'Istanbul is yours!' We started by saying. Since Istanbul belongs to Istanbulites; Knowing what is going on in this city, a transparent city management, and a municipal approach that favors open communication are the greatest rights of Istanbulites. This is exactly why today; We came together with you to announce and explain that we are opening Istanbul's metro areas to trade, and to say, come and join. We are renting out metro commercial areas through public tender. Do not be deaf! Metros are waiting for brands and entrepreneurs with more than 2,5 million passengers and 132 stores to be opened.
“REVENUE WILL ENTER ISTANBUL'S Vault”
Pointing out that the commercial area previously determined in the subways was limited to an area of 80 square meters with 1.900 stores, Özgür Soy gave the following information:
“30 percent of the existing commercial spaces have been sitting vacant for 7 years. This means a great loss of income for Istanbul. With the new period, IMM opened the tender for commercial areas. As Metro Istanbul, we have undertaken the management of commercial areas as the institution that will both improve the passenger experience and manage these areas best. We have planned our new commercial areas in a way that will not hinder passenger flows, but also enrich the travel experience. Our goal is to find the right operators in these areas, and to bring 132 stores and vending machines to life at the end of 3 months. The income obtained from here will be used for Istanbulites again. In other words, this income will enter Istanbul's coffers. Of course, our only goal is not to generate income, but to increase the quality of life of Istanbul residents, and to create new areas that can serve the daily speed and rush of our passengers.”
ZERO MINUTES TO THE SUBWAY
Stating that opening a store in metro areas will be a profitable investment for every business, regardless of size, Özgür Soy said, “Our stations have more traffic than even the most crowded shopping centers. For example, nearly 20 thousand people pass through our Gayrettepe station every day. With our commercial areas, we offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to open stores at our metro stations, which serve 7 hours a day, 18 days a week, open 24 hours even on night metro days, and never close even during the pandemic process. Moreover, these stores are zero minutes away from the metro. We think that it will be a profitable investment for every brand and entrepreneur in a wide range from chain stores to boutique businesses. First, the vending machine tender will be auctioned on July 14, and then on August 4, our first commercial tenders will be concluded.
“WE WILL CREATE A SHOPPING AREA WITHOUT CASTING CONCRETE”
Reminding that rail systems are the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation, General Manager Soy said, “In order to leave an Istanbul where they can breathe comfortably for future generations, it is necessary to prevent concrete consolidation as well as pulling vehicles out of traffic. In this context, by opening our metro areas to trade, we are creating a shopping center in our existing areas underground, without pouring concrete into huge areas and building high buildings. This project, which fully meets our 'Fair, Green, Creative City' values, will be beneficial for our Istanbul.”
“IT WILL BE A PROFITABLE INVESTMENT FOR EVERY SMALL BUSINESS”
Metro Istanbul Deputy General Manager for Operations Hakan Orhun stated that they are excited to add a very important value to Istanbul and gave the following information about commercial areas:
“Our first tender is for vending machines. Our tender process has started and will conclude on 14 July. We have 3 vending zones. We have identified 279 vending machine points in these regions, two of which are on the European side and one on the Anatolian side. While determining these points, we paid attention to the sustainability of the operation and aimed that our passengers would receive the best service. For this reason, we focused on companies that previously operated vending machines. Apart from this, we ensure that the vending machines are in continuous operation, the quality and stock level of the products, with the conditions determined in the contract, to ensure high service quality.”
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