Municipality saves thousands of liras by using bikes

ISTANBUL

The municipality in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district has saved a total of 132,000 Turkish Liras ($20,500) ever since the mayor and other personnel began using bicycles to commute four months ago.

Zeytinburnu mayor Murat Aydın, stopped using the official vehicle of the municipality and made it obligatory for the staff to commute on bicycles.

“Also this way, 19,173 liters of gasoline have been saved,” said a statement posted on the municipality’s website.

Aydın has been riding on a bicycle since April 30 and personally saved around 320 liters of gasoline.

He commutes around 10 kilometers on bicycle each day on, going to meetings, visiting locals and cruising on the streets of the district.

“The speed of traffic in our district has dropped as low as 20 to 30 kilometers per hour. Our research has suggested the most realistic solution to this problem is for bicycles and motor vehicles to commonly use the roads,” Aydın said, adding that there are such practices in France and the Netherlands.

Aydın also encourages locals to use bicycles to travel around instead of vehicles.

“It would take people only 15 minutes to travel between the two sides of Zeytinburnu,” he said.

Over the past year, bicycle warning signs and İSBİKE—a public bicycle sharing system—stations have been installed on streets throughout the municipality, according to the mayor.

The municipality also offers free classes on how to ride a bike.

Some 1,500 people have attended the classes and have learned how to ride.

The municipality also organizes 10-kilometer-long bicycle tours on Sundays to raise awareness among the public.