Metro Istanbul THE BACKBONE OF MOBILITY IN TURKEY www.metro.istanbul Metro Istanbul THE BACKBONE OF MOBILITY IN TURKEY Metro Istanbul first inaugurated its urban rail systems in 1988 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality RESEARCH BY Joseph Philips 2 [ JULY 2021 ] BUSINESS EXCELLENCE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE [ JULY 2021 ] 3 METRO ISTANBUL etro Istanbul first inaugurated its urban rail systems in 1988 by the Istanbul M Metropolitan Municipality. The company, which continues its activities as a subsidiary of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), operates the existing metro, tram, and funicular and cable car lines in Istanbul. At Business Excellence, we had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Ozgur Soy, General Manager of Metro Istanbul. Mr. Soy mentioned the institution renders services in urban rail system operation with a length of 259.85 km throughout Istanbul. It operates on 16 lines with a length of 183.15 km in the whole network, with a passenger capacity of more than 3 million every day. “We are the largest urban rail system operator in Turkey with 188 stations and a staff of more than 5 thousand people. We have 949 vehicles and own an area of over 1 million square meters”, emphasized Mr.Soy. An ongoing process With the acceleration of rail system investments and the commissioning of new lines, Metro Istanbul is constantly increasing its quality. Even more so considering their ever-growing service network and passenger- oriented service approach. It’s an institution that’s continually improving transportation technologies and continuously investing in R&D and human resources. “We also provide engineering and consultancy services for both Istanbul’s future metro projects and public transportation projects in Turkey and abroad,” stated Mr. Soy. “As Turkey’s leading urban rail system operator, we aim to continue our work in line with the EFQM Model. We want to become one of the leading companies in Europe and the world”, he went on. Employee and customer-oriented policies Furthermore, management continually carries out Customer Satisfaction Surveys 4 [ JULY 2021 ] BUSINESS EXCELLENCE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE [ JULY 2021 ] 5 METRO ISTANBUL and Mystery Customer Surveys to take quick Even though rail systems are a male- actions to improve service quality. “We listen dominated sector worldwide, Metro Istanbul to our passengers and aim to improve our increases the number of women working service quality according to the feedback in the company day by day. “In 2020, the we receive from them.” And that’s just what rate of women in our recruitment was 92%. happened before the commissioning of the In addition to our female train drivers, we recent M7 Mecidiyekoy-Mahmutbey Metro recruited female Station Supervisors for the Line. Due to suggestions by users, Metro first time in the company’s 33-year history”. Istanbul made up for certain shortcomings. Thus, it opened a line that is 100% suitable for A cultural approach to disabled access. you daily commute “We keep the satisfaction of our employees The company’s vision is to position itself as as well as our passengers at the top of our one of the living spaces of the city. It is known priorities. Therefore, we expect our employees that it is not easy to spare time for cultural and to take the initiative, not instructions”, artistic activities in Istanbul, one of the most explained Mr. Soy. Gender equality is also at renowned metropolises of the world. “For this the forefront of the institution’s philosophy. reason, we are turning our 188 stations located “We are developing our commercial areas as well as cultural and artistic areas” all over the city into cultural- trends in the world. In doing art crossroads for Istanbulites. Did you know? so, they work together in 360- Thus, our passengers can visit degree communication with the photography exhibition on By developing stakeholders, contributing to their way home from work. Or, journey planning the development of every supply listen to the live performance of software, we chain link. our metro musicians”, mentioned aimed to make One good example of the Mr. Soy excitedly. automatic latter is how vehicles on the “We are developing our time planning Yenikapi-Airport-Kirazli-Halkali commercial areas as well as of vehicles Metro Line will soon operate cultural and artistic areas. Metro operating on the without a driver. Moreover, means speed. For this reason, we rail track with a they will do so in a safer, faster, are changing our infrastructure certain tariff and more frequent range. This for commercial areas where shows how the company is passengers can quickly meet contributing to the development their needs in metro areas of vehicle procurement models following the metro spirit”. of rail systems. It also supports the R&D projects of various rail system equipment and Cutting edge tech components. This institution knows the importance of To give an example of their R&D activities: information systems and the effect of acting “By developing journey planning software, with data on increasing efficiency. That’s why we aimed to make automatic time planning they closely follow the latest technology and of vehicles operating on the rail track with a 6 [ JULY 2021 ] BUSINESS EXCELLENCE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE [ JULY 2021 ] 7 METRO ISTANBUL certain tariff. When the project is lines, which meant losing more completed, journey planning in Did you know? than 90% of passengers. rail systems in Turkey will work Within the “Maintain Your together with software for the We care that Social Distance” framework, first time”, stated Mr. Soy. the equipment the company determined safe used in the lines distances for passengers in all Barrier free transportation and stations in stations and vehicles and applied and Covid-19 electrical and markings on relevant places. Metro Istanbul is also a mechanical They also installed thermal company that supports barrier- designs is energy cameras to monitor the body free transportation. It has efficient temperature of passengers at 20 consequently planned a Mobile stations with a high passenger Interactive Assistant application density. to enable visually or hearing- impaired passengers to find directions on An environmentally sustainable the rail systems and benefit from relevant operation with vision information. Metro Istanbul is also an advocate for Like every other economic sector, Metro environmental sustainability. “Starting from Istanbul also felt the effects of Covid-19. Some the design of the lines at the project stage, “Metro Istanbul is also a company that of the measures they took had to do with we care that the equipment used in the lines supports barrier-free transportation” constant disinfection and cleaning processes. and stations in electrical and mechanical However, they also suspended the Night designs is energy efficient. We ensure energy Metro services and temporarily closed some efficiency by optimizing ventilation or lighting 8 [ JULY 2021 ] BUSINESS EXCELLENCE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE [ JULY 2021 ] 9 METRO ISTANBUL “We aim to become the backbone of public transportation by integrating all transportation modes in Istanbul” systems in stations, escalators, and elevator selections. We additionally carry out many actions to ensure energy efficiency in our existing lines and stations and thus reduce our carbon emissions”. It’s worth noting that by increasing the use of urban rail systems, the widespread use of road transport and individual automobiles in traffic diminishes. The latter helps to mitigate the city’s greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. There’s no doubt Metro Istanbul works hard to provide passengers with a high-quality travel experience. The company’s vision is to offer an intermodal approach. “We aim to become the backbone of public transportation by integrating all transportation modes in Istanbul. And the only way of achieving this is by providing sustainable, innovative, technological and environmentally friendly transportation solutions”, established Mr. Soy. METRO ISTANBUL [email protected] @metroistanbul www.metro.istanbul 10 [ JULY 2021 ] BUSINESS EXCELLENCE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE [ JULY 2021 ] 11 Metro Istanbul [email protected] @metroistanbul www.metro.istanbul Produced by: www.bus-ex.com.