SummITS 2nd International Smart Transportation Systems Summit was hosted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority.
In his speech at the opening of the summit, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mehmet Cahit Turhan stated that we are living in a technological age, where everything is developing and changing at a dizzying speed, saying, “Societies that cannot keep up with this development and change unfortunately have to take their place among underdeveloped countries. Today, the development levels of countries are directly proportional to their access infrastructure. Values such as ‘GDP per capita, literacy rates’ are no longer sufficient to determine the levels of contemporary civilization.”
Emphasizing that the opening of the sector to competition has led the private sector to make significant investments in this field, Minister Turhan said, “Currently, 449 operators provide services with 802 authorization certificates in different fields. The number of broadband subscribers has exceeded 77 million. Fiber length, which was 87 thousand kilometers in 2003, has surpassed 371 thousand kilometers. Mobile subscriber numbers are approaching 83 million. Machine-to-machine (M2M) subscriber numbers are approaching 5.7 million. The closed Public Virtual Network (KamuNet) was established to make data communication between public institutions more secure against all attacks. e-Government services continue to be developed with increasing momentum. Now, 46 million users perform an average of 300 million transactions per month. With 5G studies and domestic and national production efforts, the ‘End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Project’ was launched with the support of BTK. Thanks to these developments, our communication infrastructure is no longer just a network for human connections. Already, smart networks that learn on their own, formed by smart objects such as objects, vehicles, electrical devices, buildings, roads, have begun to be established,” he said.
Minister Turhan: Contribution of Divided Highways to Fuel and Time Savings Reaches Annual Total of 18.1 Billion Lira
Explaining that as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, they viewed roads not just as structures where vehicles pass, but as engineering structures entrusted with the lives and property of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians, Minister Turhan said, “For us, a road is not just a construction; it is a part of a whole. Can there be an understanding like ‘We built the road, it’s done, the car goes on it, yes, then it’s complete’? The car would go on a flat plain if we look at it that way. Such an understanding cannot exist. For this reason, we first equipped our country with divided highways, the rational way. On top of the 6,101 km divided highway network until 2003, we added another 21,080 kilometers, bringing it to 27,180 kilometers. From a Turkey that connected only 6 provinces with divided highways, we reached a Turkey that brings divided highways to 77 provinces today. While 40% of our total road network became divided, 82% of traffic now travels on divided highways. Thus, we eliminated the risk of head-on collisions. While reducing the stress of our drivers during journeys, we increased traffic safety. Despite the increase in traffic volume, the number of fatalities in accidents decreased by 71% thanks to divided highways. The contribution of these divided highways to fuel and time savings reached an annual total of 18.1 billion lira. In addition, harmful gas emissions on roads decreased by approximately 3.9 million tons. Thus, we also protected our environment. In this context, we have also determined our 2023 Strategy for the effective use and nationwide dissemination of Smart Transportation Systems in our country. We continue our work in this area and closely follow the studies conducted by EU countries,” he stated.
Minister Turhan: Our Goal is to Reach 15 Thousand Kilometers of Smart Roads in the Medium Term
Stating that they have established the Transport Electronic Tracking and Inspection System, which enables the instant collection of many data including national security and financial tracking, Minister Turhan said, “As the Smart Road Pilot Application, we had installed fiber optic cables on the 505-kilometer routes of Antalya-Gazipaşa, Antalya-Tekirova, and Antalya-Sandıklı highways. This road will support all applications from all signaling systems to machine-to-machine communication and even autonomous vehicles. Following our pilot application, we also started fiber cable installation on the Ankara-İzmir-Denizli and Sivrihisar-Bursa highway sections. Under this work, fiber optic cables will be installed on 1,385 kilometers of highways by October 18, 2021. Our goal is to reach 15 thousand kilometers of smart roads in the medium term,” he explained.
Minister Turhan: The Foundation of Smart Transportation Services is Valuing People
Stating that the foundation of smart transportation services is valuing people, Minister Turhan said, “With the transportation policies we have formed as the Ministry and the smart transportation systems we have implemented and continue to implement, we have not only protected the lives of our citizens. We have reduced the waiting times of people in traffic. We have made journeys much more comfortable. However, the speed of technological development can exceed the speed of investments. Knowing this, we act thinking about the future. We design and implement all our plans and infrastructure as flexibly as possible and adaptable to developments. This summit is very important for us, as it helps us on this path, encourages institutions or individuals that contribute their minds, produce projects in the development of smart transportation systems. In this regard, I thank the Turkey Smart Transportation Systems Association for bringing together such important and valuable names in the sector by organizing this important event,” he concluded.
Following the opening speeches, the summit was officially opened.