A total of 144 train drivers, 167 women and 311 men, received their badges after successfully completing the "Train Drivers Training Program" organized by Metro Istanbul, a subsidiary of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). The ceremony held at Harbiye Cemal Reşit Rey Hall, IMM President Ekrem İmamoğluIt was held with the participation of . Presenter Tuğrul Tuna said, “We know a voice when we get on the trains and subways. It says our future station. We hear a female voice saying 'Next station'. He is the Media and Communications Officer of our Metro Istanbul company. He's so excited. The surprise of the ceremony was that Zeynep Ceylan said "I invite Kaptan with your applause" and handed over her duty to Kaptan, "the voice of Istanbul metro".
İMAMOĞLU WAS ANNOUNCED AS THE "VOICE OF ISTANBUL METRO"
İmamoğlu, who was invited to the platform where he would give a speech with the captain's announcement and came to the microphone accompanied by applause, said briefly:
“It's definitely a proud picture. I applaud my new companions here, wishing them success in their new duties and professions. We hope you have a nice journey, a great success and a very careful business life where we can see you in different positions in this career point. Welcome to us, you have brought joy. Exactly 311 of our friends have completed the train drivers training and we will introduce them soon. And together we will share their joy and pride. We had previously organized such a ceremony in 2020 and presented it to our 88 train drivers. We are the city with the most metro lines in the world at the same time. This is of course manipulated. Efforts are made to move to different concepts. But I say: For God's sake, the train is there, the subways are here, our subway construction sites are there. "Let's show those who want to see it, let them see it."
“WHEN WE TAKED OFFICE, THERE WERE 10 STOPPED METRO LINES”
“There is an intense effort. When we took over, we took over 10 stopped metro lines and a very small number of construction sites working underground. Now, we have brought this city to experience periods when 12 thousand, 13 thousand, 14 thousand people worked on subway construction at the same time. We are proud of him. Being the city with the most metro lines is an important thing. Of course, as you build subways, the share of subways in transportation increases. As its share increases, our trains there increase. Naturally, our train drivers are also increasing rapidly. 4 in 1 of the train drivers working in Istanbul started their duties in our period in the last 5 years. Even this can actually show progress. Moreover, we took it for a test drive very recently, just yesterday; Our Ataköy- İkitelli metro line will be put into operation at the beginning of March. Again, at the beginning of March, we will connect Çekmeköy to Sancaktepe and Samandıra. We will take it to Sultanbeyli again at the end of next year. We took over that construction site at 3-4 percent. It was standing for 1-1,5 years. Today, we are proud of completing it. “How happy we are.”
“WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF 8 WOMEN TRAIN DRIVERS TO 270”
“This situation is actually one of the clear results and indicators of our success in producing metro. Of course, I need to open another aspect today, just as Mr. Özgür did, and I need to share it with you. When we took office, as Mr. Özgür mentioned, we had 8 female metro drivers in Metro Istanbul. That means eight of the 711 drivers were women. We increased this number to 2020 in 96. Today, 144 of our female drivers will receive their badges and we will exceed 270. And hopefully this number will reach a higher number and rate very soon. From 8 to 270, that's a big jump. It is essential for women to take an active role in social life, business life, social life and politics every day, in every aspect and at every point. So, do not take this as a discriminatory statement or a blessing; It is essential. And when that happens, we can be a strong society. When that happens, we can be a rich society. When this is the case, we can create happy families. When I see girls, I say, 'Girl, be successful in school.' It is the same for the whole society, but our well-raised girls, studying in good schools and strong women are the source of happy families. It is the reason for happy families. “I always tell this.”
“WE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE BRAVE”
“The message of having equal numbers of men and women as train drivers here is certainly an inspiration, as my friend put it. We are a management that has to fulfill this duty and responsibility of being a source of inspiration. We are the Mayor of Istanbul, we are the Municipality of Istanbul. So, we work in a center that will initiate good things. Every good step, every right step we take here guides the society and makes it strong. In that respect, I always told my friends about doing these right things: We will be absolutely brave. We will walk with courage and determination to do the right thing. So, at this point, seeing this egalitarian view here today, of course, made me very, very happy. As a father of a daughter, I would like to thank not only as the Mayor, but also everyone who contributed and all my manager friends, from human resources to the company management, who described such a journey. “Good luck.”
“MERIT IS A VERY IMPORTANT GUIDE FOR US”
“Our friends went through a difficult period. They received important training. It has never been easy for them to get to this point. Of course, sometimes they may have complained about the difficulties, but I know and I am sure that they did not have a single complaint about merit in this process. There has never been, and will not be, discrimination against anyone. We strive to embed this culture in all of our institutions. And from the very beginning to the end, we want them to say properly, transparently and honestly, 'I am the owner of this job and I have earned this job deservedly'. Because the more colleagues you have who have high self-confidence, who own their job, and who have earned their job well, the more confident you will be in doing business in your organization. In that respect, I know that every friend of mine here has duly acquired these duties and this qualification. Merit is a very important guide for us. "We will never give up that compass and will strive to evaluate each of our people within this framework."
“ISTANBUL IS THE CITY WITH THE MOST METRO CONSTRUCTION IN THE WORLD IN THE LAST 5 YEARS”
“Istanbul is the city that has built the most metro lines in the world in the last 5 years. A management that manages processes with merit, a management that increases the rate of women in the subways many times over. Of course, despite the harsh conditions and high costs in our country, we have become an administration that strives to convey this in a way that will least affect its citizens, subsidizes it, so to speak, and strives to do whatever we can to overcome these difficult conditions, difficult times, poverty and poverty. Our effort to offer free transportation to mothers with children aged 0-4 while traveling with their children, from subways to all public transportation vehicles, is an effort to overcome today's difficult days. So we want and wish; Now let the social wealth talk. Let him talk about fair sharing through wealth. Let's be a happy and prosperous society, a high city. But unfortunately; We are talking about poverty and poverty, and because of this bad economic management, we have strived to contribute to families and people in need in every environment and with every instrument we have. All of these are the result of our understanding of providing multi-dimensional, multi-faceted services.”
“WE WILL BRING YOU MORE BEAUTIFUL DAYS TOGETHER”
"Its name is; Believe me, it is proof that politics is, first of all, doing action, producing work, doing business, producing solutions, and acting in this direction. Its name is; It is a fair, productive and investor municipality. It is an effort to be a management that acts ethically as an investor and when investing, is transparent, produces business, and does not create gossip. In the presence of all of you, I would like to thank the 16 million people of Istanbul who appreciate our understanding of politics and municipality and who give us strength and support. With their love, prayers and cooperation with us, we are determined to work more, produce more work and walk with you to better days for the next 5 years. And in this regard, I hope we will make you experience much better days together.”
"YOU HAVE A NICE WAY"
"I know; It is difficult to live in a city like Istanbul. Particularly, working in transportation services is even more critical and difficult. It requires talent, hard-working, determination, self-sacrificing, and also self-improvement. I would like to remind my dear train driver friends, who have all these characteristics, that they set out with exactly these feelings. Please improve yourself further on this painstaking journey. Research whatever exemplary work there is in the world and add it to your profession. In other words, be people, individuals, who observe and monitor every ecosystem you are in, with innovation and a sustainable management approach, who express their opinions openly and who always dominate the common mind tables in a transparent environment. If you act this way, I know that your job will become easier and you will achieve many successes in your business. You have a nice way."
DR. SOY: “42 PERCENT OF JOB APPLICATIONS TO METRO ISTANBUL ARE FROM WOMEN”
Metro Istanbul General Manager Dr. Özgür Soy also shared the following information in his speech:
“Since June 2019; Our number of lines increased from 13 to 18, our line length increased from 154,25 kilometers to 216 kilometers, our number of stations increased from 158 to 216, and our number of vehicles increased from 839 to 1.015. Metro Istanbul, which carries one in every two passengers traveling by rail systems in Turkey, currently serves more than 3 million passengers a day. With the increasing number of lines and vehicles, our number of employees reached 2.922 from 3.560. Together with our security and cleaning teams working under the umbrella of Metro Istanbul, the total number of people we employ exceeds 6.000. With the change and transformation movement we started in 2019, we increased the rate of female employees in our company from 5,8 percent to 15,7 percent. In 2019, the number of female train drivers, which was only 8, has reached 300 today. The rate of our female employees receiving promotions increased by 60 times. The doors of all positions, from station manager to technician, from maneuverman to tram driver, were opened to women. The total number of female employees was 175, but today it has reached 600. The point I am most proud of is; 42 percent of job applications made to Metro Istanbul are from women. This rate was only 2019 percent in 7. Train driving is a challenging and demanding profession. In addition to operating the 25 to 40 ton train and following the traffic, unlike our personal vehicles, our train drivers bear the responsibility of thousands of Istanbulites. For this reason, among nearly 30.000 applications, 12 of our friends, who passed 311 weeks of difficult exams and eliminations based on technical skills, were successful and qualified to become train drivers. "In the digital transformation journey we are on, many jobs in the future may become history, but the employment need of the rail systems industry will increase day by day."
FIRST SELF, THEN FAMILY PHOTO
Following the speeches, İmamoğlu and Soy symbolically presented their badges to 9 new train drivers (Çağla Avcı, Hülya Hacıoğlu, Mehmet Özcan, Aleyna Çakmak, Ferhat Yıldırım, Kerim Mert, Yeliz Taşkıran, Sevgi Apan, Merve Usta Ocakçı), accompanied by the enthusiastic applause of their friends and families. He presented. Supporting the train drivers and their families, İmamoğlu shot the moment with his mobile phone video. Afterwards, İmamoğlu and Soy went to the CRR foyer area and took a family photo with 311 new train drivers.