"SummITS'24 4th International Intelligent Transportation Systems Summit" was organized by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Association of Türkiye (ITS Türkiye) at Ankara Hacettepe University Tunçalp Özgen Congress and Culture Center on May 2-4, 2024 with the participation of experts, institutions and organizations in the field of intelligent transportation systems from Türkiye and around the world.
At the summit, which is the country's only international event in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), officials from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, public institutions and organizations operating in the field of ITS in Türkiye and in the world, and private sector stakeholders took part in the summit program and the exhibition.
Senior executives from national and international organizations, experts from academia and industry, policy makers shared their experiences with the participants by discussing innovations, latest trends, current technologies and research in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems, mobility challenges that cities face today and how they can be overcome with ITS solutions.
Deputy Director General of Communications of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and President of ITS Türkiye, Esma DİLEK made the opening speech of the summit, which was organized for the 4th time this year with the motto "Leading the Digital Transformation of Transport with ITS".
Dilek stated that intelligent transportation systems are at the top of the world's transportation agenda and continue to develop rapidly. Dilek also mentioned that as ITS Türkiye, they follow the developments in the intelligent transportation sector in the world in order to achieve the ITS vision set for our country and that they realize this with the cooperation of public, private sector and academia.
Stating that they brought together the sectors operating in the field of intelligent transportation systems with the SUMMITS'24 4th International Intelligent Transportation Systems Summit, Dilek pointed out that they prepared a very rich summit program and that the new trends and legislative studies in the field of intelligent transportation systems in the world were discussed in the sessions organized at the summit, and emphasized that especially the developments in digitalization and logistics have found a wide place in ITS applications.
Dilek concluded his speech by thanking the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mr. Abdulkadir URALOĞLU and all participants for their support in the development of intelligent transportation systems and their coordination on a national scale.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir URALOĞLU who attended the opening of the summit and made a speech, said that Intelligent Transportation Systems are among the most important supporting elements of technological transformation in the transportation sector in Türkiye as in the world.
Stating that ITS is a set of systems based on information and communication technologies that ensure safer and more comfortable transportation, energy efficiency, effectively manage transportation networks, Minister URALOĞLU pointed out that these systems contribute to the optimization of transportation infrastructure, improvement of the quality of transportation services for users, and the provision of environmentally friendly transportation options through the use of technology.
URALOĞLU explained that they prepared "National Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategy Document and Action Plans" with the studies they carried out in consultation as the Ministry, and used the following statements:
"We are determining our policy and strategy in this field and laying out the steps to be taken. Our main responsibility and mission in the field of ITS is to create a smart transportation network in our country that is integrated to all modes of transportation, uses up-to-date technologies, utilizes domestic and national resources, is efficient, safe, effective, innovative, dynamic, environmentally friendly, value-added and sustainable."
"We examined good practice examples in the process of creating an ITS architecture."
Stating that the introduction of ITS to the country started with electronic toll payment systems, URALOĞLU stated that they have implemented the free pass system in this field and that they will expand it throughout the country.
URALOĞLU stated that the Ministry has completed the development of the national ITS architecture, which provides a framework for the planning, definition, dissemination and integration of intelligent transportation systems in the country, and noted the following:
"In the process of creating the national ITS architecture of our country, we have taken into account the current needs and future perspective of our country by reviewing the world literature and good practice examples. At the same time, we have also determined the service packages related to the localization and customization of the ITS architecture. We will soon present the National ITS Platform, which includes the architectural layers, service packages and architectural software tool of the national ITS architecture, to the public service. The platform will also include projects, legislation, national and international studies and events in the ITS sector."
"Intelligent transportation systems communicate with each other via satellite."
URALOĞLU underlined that they have also determined the standards and communication solutions to be used in the dissemination of ITS applications in the country, and pointed out that in cases where existing communication infrastructures are not suitable due to geographical conditions, they enable intelligent transportation systems to communicate with each other via satellite.
URALOĞLU stated that they have started to work on the establishment of the Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) Application Corridor in order to monitor new generation technologies such as autonomous vehicles, vehicle-vehicle, vehicle-infrastructure communication technologies, and that they aim to reduce accidents and traffic congestion, ensure traffic safety, reduce fuel consumption and negative environmental impacts with the corridor to be established between Hasdal and Istanbul Airport in Istanbul.
"We are planning an electric charging network."
Pointing out that their work on electric vehicles also continues, URALOĞLU made the following assessment:
"We are working in coordination with our relevant ministries to carry out studies on the technical and administrative infrastructure required for the widespread use of these vehicles in our country and to expand electric vehicle charging stations. We are also carrying out electric charging network planning studies in order to create charging infrastructure in appropriate locations and capacities on our country's road and rail network. We contribute to reducing traffic congestion through our actions to promote cycling and micro-mobility in cities. Within the scope of the 'T-ROTA Project' carried out by our Ministry, we will soon be sharing with you a mobile software that allows you to use different transportation options such as public transportation, car rental, bicycle and electric scooter together."
Virve VIMPARI, Head of Green Development and Inclusive Growth Section, First Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, and Prof. Dr. Şükrü Karatepe, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Local Government Policies Board, also delivered speeches at the opening of the Summit.
Public institutions and organizations and private sector stakeholders, senior executives from national and international organizations, experts from academia and the sector took part as speakers in the panels held within the scope of the summit. The session on "Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Global Perspective", where the current status of ITS activities in our country and in the world, needs and solutions developed were evaluated, was moderated by Aysel KANDEMİR, Director General of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. Joost VANTOMME, CEO, ERTICO - ITS Europe and Vice President, MaaS Alliance, Zeina NAZER, Co-Founder, CITIES Forum, Chair, Road User Charging Forum, ITS UK and Secretary General, ITS Arab), Martin BÖHM, Secretary General of C-Roads Platform, Madis SASSIAD, Chairman of ITS Estonia and Board Member of GoSwift, and Faruk CİRİT, Director General of Sectors and Public Investments at the Presidential Strategy and Budget Directorate participated as panelists.
Within the scope of the three-day organization, which attracted great interest, prominent projects in the field of ITS in Türkiye were exhibited. The summit included Project Presentations and academic paper presentations where institutions developing innovative projects in the field of ITS shared their work with the summit visitors.
Within the scope of the Summit, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, General Directorate of Communication, ITS Türkiye and ERTICO-ITS Europe, and with the contributions of PTT Information Technologies Inc, trainings on "Innovations in ITS: The role of ITS, C-ITS and CCAM", "ITS and mobility management in SUMPs", "New Mobility Services and MaaS" and various sessions were organized in the field of ITS.
At the summit, the traditional "Path of the Mind Awards in Transportation", which were given for the 7th time this year in order to support the studies in the field of intelligent transportation systems, also met with their owners.
