Eskisehir (Türkiye)
Eskisehir, population 741,736, lies 233 km west of the capital Ankara in the Central Anatolia province of Turkey. It has natural thermal springs and rich historical, touristic and cultural attractions. City management has made several notable measures for a more sustainable transport system.
The modal split in Eskisehir is 48.2 percent walking, 13 percent public bus, 10.5 percent tram, 10.5 percent private car, 4 percent minibus, 2 percent service vehicle and 1.8 percent bicycle. Efforts to create a more sustainable transport system have included rehabilitatation of the river embankments in the city centre and the creation of a light rail system. The city also operates passenger transportation on the river. The city’s strategic approach to transport management is currently laid out in the Eskisehir Urban Transportation Master Plan, prepared and approved by Eskisehir Greater Municipality City Council in 2003. This has resulted in a sustainable urban transport plan whose main targets include:
- gradually extending and activating a modern transportation infrastructure and an environment-friendly light rail system, the negative environmental effects of which are minimised by and are compatible with the city development plan;
- improving service levels and the accessibility of the mass transportation system, with the objective of raising its modal share in a sustainability way;
- making Eskisehir a people-friendly city by ensuring free movement and access to city activities not of vehicles but of passengers;
- improving pedestrian and bicycle transportation and reducing use of automobiles, especially in the city centre; and
- planning and implementing the necessary institutional infrastructure so that transport is managed and coordinated rationally and economically.
Challenges have included following up on a resolution to regulate urban vehicles with rubber tyres by the City Traffic Commission and UKOME, an association of authorities and other offices with responsibilities connected to urban transport. Different categories of vehicles now have identifying license plates: M plates for minibuses; D plates for shared taxis, T plates for commercial taxi S plates service vehicles and public buses. Eskisehir’s city administration is working on the implementation of sustainable urban transport measures in cooperation with a private company, ESTRAM, for the light rail system and boats for waterborne transportation.
