The Future of Transportation 2 Workshop, organized by the Transportation Technologies and Smart Automotive Systems Application and Research Center of Okan University, one of our association members, was held online on June 12, 2022 with the theme of Micromobility.
ITS Türkiye President Esma DİLEK, who made a presentation at the workshop attended by eight speakers from different disciplines who are experts in their fields, touched on the importance of sustainability and sustainable environment, and pointed out that the countries of the world focus on sustainable solutions in every field to leave a clean world to future generations and that the zero-emission target in transportation is a priority. Dilek who defining it as developing without damaging resources the concept of sustainability in order to transfer today's resources to future generations while using them. said, "In this context, the protection of the natural environment is among the responsibilities of all of us and in this context, people need to reorganize their lifestyles and consumption behaviors to be more sensitive to the environment."
Dilek who defining micromobility, which is one of the innovative urban mobility solutions in the context of the European Green Deal and on the path of climate neutrality declared by the EU against emerging challenges such as air pollution, noise and traffic congestion, said "Micromobility, which is preferred by urbanites from all walks of life, especially among young people, vehicles, with their easy use features, have become an alternative type of transportation in a short time. Micromobility vehicles, which provide solutions to traffic density, which is one of the most important problems of modern cities, and provide freedom of movement between short distances, have become widespread by entering our lives quickly. Contemporary micromobility systems such as electric bicycles and their derivatives have become an element that increases the quality of life while changing the face of transportation in our cities." Dilek also touched upon the Ministry's legislative work and ongoing projects in this field and continued "As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we attach great importance to increasing the quality of life of our citizens, supporting their mental and physical health, and bringing these environmentally friendly systems to our country with the systems we have created, our legislation regulations and incentive policies. Our Ministry initiated the necessary legislative work two years ago due to the need to make some arrangements to be made to which micro mobility service recipients and service providers will be subject in terms of life and property safety, efficiency, environmental sensitivity and user comfort. Electric bicycle and e-scooter legislation studies started in 2020 with micro mobility common sense meetings. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the «Micro Mobility Focus Group» Meeting on electric bicycles and electric scooters was held with the participation of sector representatives. On a project basis, as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we continue our efforts to bring a scientifically based, environmentalist, sustainable and history-sensitive transportation infrastructure to our country with a focus on logistics, mobility and digitalization. As the Ministry, we develop applications that reflect our sensitivity to nature and in this period when we make life easier, we implement important projects to complete our integrations quickly. In a rapidly evolving urban transportation environment, micro-mobility has changed the way our people move on a daily basis. This has presented new and urgent challenges for national policymakers and city officials. As the Ministry, we attach great importance to increasing the quality of life of our citizens, supporting their mental and physical health, and bringing these environmentally friendly systems to our country with the systems we have created based on this fact, our legislation regulations and incentive policies."
Stating that he thinks that the future of micromobility will be bright despite its various difficulties, Dilek said, "Our goal is to reduce travel times, increase traffic safety, use our road capacity efficiently, increase mobility, use energy efficiently and reduce the damage to the environment in all modes of transportation. Leaving our world livable to future generations is a responsibility for us both legally and on behalf of humanity."
