110 eco-friendly buses to hit Istanbul’s roads

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş (R) and Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı are seen in a new eco-friendly bus manufactured by TEMSA. CİHAN photo

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) has signed an agreement with Turkish conglomerate Sabancı Holding bus-making unit Temsa Global to buy 110 environment-friendly buses.

Some 110 buses working with compressed natural gas (CNG) will be added to the bus fleet of the İBB. The deal was signed on Dec. 16 with a ceremony attended by Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı, TEMSA General Manager Dinçer Çelik and many officials and executives.

“We are here for the purchasing of new 110 buses. There are now eco-friendly buses working with compressed gas. The buses that used to pollute the environment were left in the past,” Topbaş said at the event.

Topbaş stated the level of transportation usage showed the degree of civilization of a city. “Very old buses weren’t appropriate for this city. We had decided to renew our fleet. While we were serving with our company, Otobüs AŞ, we also gave big support to the public buses. We aim to make new 3,000 buses to come into operation by the end of 2013. We took these steps as local bus choices,” he said.

Sabancı stressed that they first needed a strong domestic market to strengthen the bus industry. She added that after they became happy with their own products, then they could export buses.