The International Road Transport Union (IRU) teamed up with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the German International Cooperation Organisation (GIZ), to organise a joint regional training workshop on "Bus Improvement and Bus Rapid Transit" in parallel with largest regional bus and coach exhibition, Busworld Turkey in Istanbul, home to the region's largest Bus Rapid Transit system.
The workshop, supported by the leading global sustainable transport solutions provider network EMBARQ, enabled 38 transport policy decision-makers, planners and public transport companies from 13 Middle East and Central Asian countries, to share knowledge on local and international approaches and experiences in improving bus services and in developing BRT systems, and to discover one of the most successful BRT systems in the world, the Metrobus.
IRU General Delegate to the Middle East and Region, Haydar Ozkan, said, "Bus Rapid Transit is shaping up to be the mobility hit of the century. It provides efficient, safe, green and user-friendly mass transit services to ever-growing cities and their people, at much lower infrastructural costs than light rail transport. BRT is the Smart Move."
The workshop, supported by the leading global sustainable transport solutions provider network EMBARQ, enabled 38 transport policy decision-makers, planners and public transport companies from 13 Middle East and Central Asian countries, to share knowledge on local and international approaches and experiences in improving bus services and in developing BRT systems, and to discover one of the most successful BRT systems in the world, the Metrobus.
IRU General Delegate to the Middle East and Region, Haydar Ozkan, said, "Bus Rapid Transit is shaping up to be the mobility hit of the century. It provides efficient, safe, green and user-friendly mass transit services to ever-growing cities and their people, at much lower infrastructural costs than light rail transport. BRT is the Smart Move."
Mr Ozkan concluded, "The benefits of bringing together key transport decision-makers from across the Middle East and Eurasia, transport researchers and BRT experts, as well as being able to showcase an already existing flagship BRT scheme, are immeasurable. I look forward to seeing the positive results as BRT spreads throughout the region."