On 10 July, a kick-off event for the planning of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK was held in Ankara, Turkey. The event was organised by the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, who are responsible for the national coordination of the campaign in Turkey. Jerome Simpson (EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK European Secretariat) joined around 100 enthusastic participants in discussing how the upcoming campaign will take shape across the country this year from 16-22 September. Among the participants were representatives from nearly 70 towns and cities.

The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, Christian Berger, mentioned that previous years had seen around 7 municipalities participate in the campaign, and that hopes were high to top this number in 2018. He added, "Our municipalities are of course the first to get involved in finding a solution whenever we face a problem in today's cities. And we mark Mobility Week in Turkey in the third week of September each year. Our main theme has to do with getting more people to use public transport. But what needs to be emphasized here is the diversification of modes of mass public transport. Our efforts on this theme are ongoing."

Göktug Kara, Transport Sector Head of Unit at the Delegation of the European Union said “We hope to get a record participation this September and with almost 1400 municipalities being members of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, there is no reason why we can’t rank alongside Austria’s five hundred plus annual registrations!”

For a list of current reigstered cities in Turkey, click here.