Information Technologies and Communication Authority hosted the First International Intelligent Transportation Systems Summit.
The summit, which was held for the first time this year, was attended by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mehmet Cahit Turhan, Minister of Public Works and Transport of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Tolga Atakan, Deputy Ministers of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Enver İskurt, Selim Dursun and Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, President of ITS Turkey Erol Yanar, ITS Independent Consultant Dr. Khaled El Araby and numerous sector representatives.
In the opening of the meeting where Intelligent Transportation Systems were evaluated in all dimensions, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mehmet Cahit Turhan began his speech by emphasizing the importance of technology. Particularly drawing attention to technology's driving force in social life, Turhan said, “Transportation infrastructure is exactly such a field. Nowadays, countries' levels of development are directly proportional to their access infrastructures. Equally important is the richness of information values and access structures. It is impossible to determine social welfare by ignoring these values. Now, countries are making their strategic plans centering on this reality, or rather, they are compelled to do so.”
Drawing attention to the great progress Turkey has made in becoming an information society, Turhan stated, “At the beginning of the 2000s, unfortunately, our country had no significant place in the information sector. Today, with the work we have done in the field of information technologies, our country has one of the world's best infrastructures. Our fiber infrastructure length was around 81 thousand km. Today, it has approached 350 thousand km. We have established one of the world's fastest mobile communication infrastructures. We communicate over 4.5G with our own produced base stations. We have started work on 5G. We aim to be among the pioneering countries in 5G and to develop our own technology. We have implemented legal regulations that will pave the way for the sector one by one. We have made regulations regarding right of way and facility sharing to widespread and accelerate the communication infrastructure. Vehicles and software that communicate with each other and act jointly reduce the error rates and the incidence of accidents” and provided information about the work done.
Drawing attention to the emergence of a brand new category with the inclusion of communication in transportation, Turhan said, “This new category, which we briefly call ‘Intelligent Transportation’ and can also be summarized as ‘information technology-supported transportation,’ has become one of the indispensables of daily life, especially in urban life.
Many intelligent transportation applications that most of us are not even aware of because they have become habits are working every moment and providing services to both drivers and passengers. In our country, from the early years of the Republic with the understanding of ‘let the wheels turn,’ we have come to intelligent roads that adapt technology to roads today, aiming only to reach every corner of the country. In fact, road construction developed in accordance with international standards, providing maximum driving comfort and traffic safety, has become our most important priority and goal” he stated.
Minister Turhan: We Have Created Our ITS 2023 Roadmap
In his speech, Turhan said, “We have also determined our 2023 Strategy for the effective use of Intelligent Transportation Systems, which emerge through mutual communication between road, vehicle and passenger, and their widespread adoption across the country. We have concretized our Intelligent Transportation Systems 2023 Strategy with an action plan and created our roadmap. We are also working together with local administrations on urban transportation issues. Our priority works on highways, which have the largest share in intercity transportation, continue rapidly. Vehicles and software that communicate with each other and act jointly reduce the error rates and the incidence of accidents. We have started implementing forgiving road applications found in developed countries in our country” he added.
Explaining the work done in this context, Minister Turhan shared, “At the core of our intelligent transportation services is the value we place on our people. With the transportation policies we have created as the Ministry and the intelligent transportation systems and technologies we have implemented and continue to implement, our primary goal is to reduce fatal and seriously injured accidents. With these efforts, we have not only reduced accident rates but also shortened travel times. In this age where time is our most valuable asset, we have opened ways for our citizens and entrepreneurs to use time more effectively. Again, through these, we have minimized environmental negativities arising from transportation and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”
Minister Turhan: Our Citizens Deserve Intelligent Roads and Intelligent Cities
Stating that Intelligent Transportation Systems facilitate the access of health units to accident sites, reduce waiting times in traffic, and make journeys more comfortable, Turhan said, “In order to provide the benefits of intelligent transportation infrastructure within cities as well, we are establishing similar infrastructures in our cities and making cities intelligent. In order to deliver fast, quality intelligent city services to our citizens, we aim for transportation, health, security, energy and environmentally friendly applications to interact with each other. The speed of technological development can exceed the speed of investments. Knowing this, we act thinking of the future. We design and implement all our plans and infrastructure as flexibly as possible and adaptable to developments. Such organizations that help us on this path, encourage rational, project-producing institutions or individuals in the development of intelligent transportation systems are very important. Our citizens deserve intelligent roads and intelligent cities” he concluded his speech.
After the opening speeches, the “Path of Reason: Intelligent Roads Awards” were presented. After the award ceremony, panels began. Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan moderated the session titled “The World is Shaped by ITS.” Accompanying Sayan on the panel were European Commission Policy Officer
Pedro Barradas, ERTICO Board Member and Director of Innovation and Deployment Dr. Yohanna Tzanidaki, Executive Board Member of the International Relations Directorate Dr. Young Kyun Lee, and Finland ITS Board Member and Head of Business Development Markus Melander.
Deputy Minister Sayan: ITS is Among the Most Important Topics Guiding Transportation
Speaking about the effects of technology, Deputy Minister Sayan said, “As you know, the rapid development of science and technology and population growth have highlighted the desire for high-capacity, faster, safer, more environmentally friendly and more comfortable transportation. Thus, implementing human and environment-centered, safe, efficient and effective transportation infrastructure and policies that minimize harm to the environment has become more than a need; a necessity. In the past, having a well-developed transportation network was sufficient, but due to the changing world order, today something new has been added to it: advanced technology. With the help of rapidly advancing technology today, ‘Intelligent Transportation Systems,’ which are needed by those who want to deliver their products to wide markets quickly, safely and easily, and those who dream of building a modern city, have become one of the most important topics guiding transportation in the 21st century.”
Drawing attention to the fact that ITS has been spreading in our country since the 1990s, Sayan said, “ITS, which has many subsystems such as traffic management systems, electronic payment systems, driver support and intelligent vehicle systems, passenger information systems, has reached the position of an important sector that can create added value for the future in Turkey. One of the Ministry's most important investment areas is also Intelligent Transportation Systems. We continue our work on monitoring the implementation of ITS, ensuring the use of determined standards across the country, widespread adoption of communication infrastructures related to these systems, and conducting international relations in this context.
In today's world where global interaction is at its peak, intelligent transportation systems have become a topic of even greater importance. The importance of our country's geopolitical position, its integration with the region in every sense, its economic goals, and especially the 2023 vision we are pursuing under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are our most important reasons for creating a pioneering, effective, intelligent, completely domestic and national transportation network. I am sure that we will benefit from the knowledge and experience of all stakeholders under the ITS umbrella for successfully creating the intelligent transportation system architecture, developing a common data model, establishing communication standards, benefiting from general-purpose communication technologies, and widespread standardization” he concluded his speech with this wish.
The program, where Intelligent Transportation Systems will be discussed in all dimensions, will continue for two days.