When we look at the history of the
public transportation system in Konya, we see that Konya's horse-drawn trams
have a very important place. In this respect, we will stop for a while about
the horse-drawn tram. Namely; Konya horse-drawn tram was dismantled from
Thessaloniki in 1917 and brought to Konya and established during the first
mayorship of the late Muhlis Koner after the constitutional monarchy.
The route of the horse-drawn tram is as
follows; After the Atatürk monument, it extends into the city in two arms. One
of the arms, which started with double scissors in the monument, would pass in
front of Gazi High School (Konya High School) according to the current
situation, and then it would come in front of the old Park cinema following the
Atatürk museum. There was a second pair of scissors in this place between the
park cinema and the old army headquarters building. In addition, since the
house of non-Muslim Arapoğlu, one of the wheat merchants of the time, was
located in this area, these scissors was called Arapoğlu Scissors.
After the tram departing from the station made the first rail change in the
Monument scissors, it would make the second rail change from the opposite
direction, that is, from the government mansion with the second moving car.
From here, the car turned left in front of the military branch building and
took the old municipal palace to the south-west of today's İş Bank in front of
the current Rampalı Bazaar. After this place, it would turn right and
south-east in front of the old Ceylani Cinema. Following this, from the old art
school building (Special Provincial Administration) in front of İplikçi Mosque,
Şerafettin Mosque would turn right and south from the north. While passing in
front of the central building of Yapı Kredi Bank, it would turn right and south
again, where it would end with the third scissors in front of the old Turkish
Commercial Building and reach the government area, from here, the tram line
would turn right and south in front of the old İş Bank and extend towards the
Aziziye Mosque.
Turning left to the sun-east again from
the front of the mosque, it would end within 20 meters of the gate in the
south-west of Sultan Selim Mosque, this route did not work much. The second
branch of the tram line would leave the switch around the Monument and pass
through the south of the governor's mansion and reach the tram depot in the
north of the Martyrs' Cemetery, which is called the municipal houses. The tram
depot hangar was made of iron, and there were two barn buildings made of roofed
adobe with open corrugated zinc cover and earth cover to the north of it. The
road would extend to the south-east from here and reach the Wheat Market from
the big door of the Sahipata Mosque in front of today's Archaeology Museum,
ending at the scissors in the Wheat Market. Wheat will be transported from the
so-called wheat market to the station by tram in wagons, but it has not been
processed.
Horses that drew trams were no different from the weak scrap horses of the
market-boosted carriages of the time, and most of them were animals that had
ribs from neglect and had no courage to walk. Going to Gazi High School (Konya
High School) was a little up and down, and some of the passengers would get off
and help the animals while going up and down. Selçuk Es, one of the well-known
researcher-writers of Konya, saw this event in his childhood and conveys the
event to the present day as follows; "When the animals on the tram could
not pull the tram car, all of them, including the passengers, went down. They
started pushing the car. One of the tourists who took advantage of this event
started to take the camera in his hand. In the evening, Selçuk Es tells the
incident to his father, mayor Kazım Gürel. Kazım Gürel, on the other hand,
shakes his head and laughs, saying nothing else.
After a few days, the horse-drawn tram was removed from the trip by the
municipal council. While investigating the history of public transportation in
Konya, it is useful to explain the anecdotes about the first cars seen in
Konya. The first automobile in Konya was seen during the First World War when
Enver Pasha gave one of the official automobiles to the Konya Governorship. It
is an Austrian (Puh) brand car with awning on the top, side gear, bulging
rubber, exhaust horn and carbide illuminated. Since there was no such thing as
a road in today's standards at that time, the places where the wheels passed
were on a deepened (whitewashed) road by constantly going back and forth from
the groundbreaking vehicles.
In 1917-1918, a transport company of the
Germans used to set up headquarters in the chief clerk's inn on Karaman Street,
and 15-20 trucks of 7-8 tons, which were chained to the wheel at the end of a
shaft coming from the rear with iron wheels to the differential chassis, and
which moved with the movement of this chain, would gather in the square where
the municipal shops were located opposite today's inn, where they would go out
for training every day in the morning. During the War of Independence, the pale
red colored car, which served the governor of Konya Hüsnü Haydar Bey and Galip
Pasha and was in the service of the late Abdülhalik Renda, who served as
governor for two months, was one of the first cars seen in Konya. Atatürk, who
visited Konya several times during the War of Independence, was also allocated
this automobile while he was in Konya. Towards the end of the war of
independence, a military driver's school was opened in Konya under the
administration of Lieutenant Colonel Selahattin Bey.
This was soon followed by the driver's school. The civilian driver's school in
Aslanlı Kışlada, the military driver's school, was established in the building
opposite the south-east of today's Ziraat Bank bazaar, which was used as a
military bakery at that time. The brands of the cars in Konya at that time were
Austrian "Puh", "Hanza", German "Mercedes-Benz",
American "Chevrole, Ford, Delahi", French "Berliye",
Italian "Fiat" brand cars were used in various authorities and institutions
in Konya in the first years of the Republic. In these dates, the official cars
of the province and the second army inspectorate were axe-nose "Bens"
cars, and since the silencers were removed, it felt like a gun was thrown next
to the ear of the person, and the passersby looked at them with fear and
amazement. At that time, there were "Fords" and one or two
"Chevrolet" cars in the Konya market, which they called "bust
one, lift two tos and three" in taxis up to 12. In these dates, that is,
in the first years of our Republic, the car agencies in Konya were Chevrolet
and Delahi car agencies, Ford agencies were in Hafız Usta, Chevrolet agency was
in the late Mehmet Tuncer, and Citroen agency was in Hüsni Efendi from Isparta.
The beginning of the regular public transportation services carried out by the
municipality begins with the liquidation of Konya Elektrik A.Ş. on May 7, 1946,
during the time of Muhsin Faik Dündar (1939-1946), and the establishment of
Electricity, Water, Bus (ESO) Enterprises with an added budget by Konya
Municipality. In addition to the 2 buses rented in the same years, 2 Ford buses
were purchased by the municipality. Municipal buses operate on two routes as
Station and Meram in the same years. During the time of Mayor Sıtkı Bilgin, 10
Ikarus buses were purchased by the municipality between 1958-1960 and the
number of buses was increased.
From the first years of the Republic
until the 1960s, 70% of the vehicles in the city were horse-drawn carriages.
And in those times, horse-drawn carts were called "Antalya Car" and
freight was transported in them. Again, the articulated horse-drawn carriages,
which were very fashionable during these years, played a very important role in
Konya's public transportation for a very long time. In 1970s, one of the most
important problems of horse-drawn carriages with bellows was the parking
problem. The hawkers and the bellows carts had been arguing for a long time
because of the parking problem. Until then, they would park the bellows car in
front of the old Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha Primary School. The horse-drawn
carriages wanted a parking lot on Üçler Kabristani Kışla Road. And after a
certain period of time, after the emergence of the rickshaws, their requests
were accepted.
In 1917-1918, a transport company of the Germans used to set up headquarters in
the chief clerk's inn on Karaman Street, and 15-20 trucks of 7-8 tons, which
were fixed to the wheel at the end of a shaft coming from the iron wheels to
the differential chassis from the rear with a chain to the rear wheel and moved
with the movement of this chain, would gather in the square where the municipal
shops are located in front of today's inn, where they would go out for training
every day in the morning. During the War of Independence, the pale red colored
automobile, which served the governor of Konya Hüsnü Haydar Bey and Galip
Pasha, and which was in the service of the late Abdülhalik Renda, who served as
governor for two months, was one of the first automobiles seen in Konya by
making a sound like "vish, vish" from its exhaust. Atatürk, who came
and went to Konya several times during the War of Independence, was allocated
this car while he was in Konya. Towards the end of the war of independence, a
military driver's school was opened in Konya under the administration of
Lieutenant Colonel Selahattin Bey. This was soon followed by the driver's
school. The civilian driver's school in Aslanlı Kışlada, the military driver's
school, was established in the building opposite the south-east of today's
Ziraat Bank bazaar, which was used as a military bakery at that time.
The brands of the cars in Konya at that time were Austrian "Puh", "Hanza", German "Mercedes-Benz", American "Chevrolet, Ford, Delahi", French "Berliye", Italian "Fiat" brand cars were used in various authorities and institutions in Konya in the first years of the Republic. In these dates, the official cars of the province and the second army inspectorate were axe-nose "Bens" cars, and since the silencers were removed, it felt like a gun was thrown next to the ear of the person, and the passersby looked at them with fear and amazement. At that time, there were "Fords" and one or two "Chevrolet" cars in the Konya market, which they called "bust one, lift two tos and three" in taxis up to 12. In these dates, that is, in the first years of our Republic, the car agencies in Konya were Chevrolet and Delahi car agencies, Ford agencies were in Hafız Usta, Chevrolet agency was in the late Mehmet Tuncer, and Citroen agency was in Hüsni Efendi from Isparta.
At that time, between 1960 and 1970, the
gearless Ford taxis, called three with two toes, were still in use, and a fee
of 50 cents was required to go to Meram for a coffee and return to the center.
In 1972, it required a fee of 25 cents to go from the city center to the
station by articulated carriage. Until these years, there was such a bellows
carriage dictatorship in the city that it was said "get in if you
want". Three-wheeled van came on the market and ended the reign of the bellows
cart. But the reign of the three-wheeled vans was not as long as that of the
articulated chariots.
Again in the same years, Murat taxis
appeared on the market, and when it was said that it would cost 5 liras to go
to any neighborhood on the east side of the railway by going to the market with
the Murat taxi that the citizen named Hüseyin Kale bought, our people showed a
lot of interest in this. Later, minibuses started to appear in the public
transportation of the city, and most importantly, since the 1970s, Konya
Municipality has become one of the indispensable elements of public
transportation in Konya with its increasing bus fleet. In the 1970s, the number
of buses belonging to the municipality increased to 52 and the number of lines
to 26. In these years, the distribution of the fleet owned by the municipality
is as follows. 10 Magirus, 12 321 Mercedes, 20 352 Mercedes, 10 302 Mercedes
With the movement center building built
in Kayalıpark in 1968, the center of the buses was Kayalıpark, and the public
transportation network spread all over the city with Aydınlık in 1977, Meram in
1978, Fair in 1980, Cumhuriyet in 1985, Samanpazarı in 1991 and Erenköy
Movement Centers in 2003. As of the end of 2006, 78 and 249 buses were operated
with 616 personnel in a day with 2011 service and 49,496 km. and the bus fleet
has the capacity to carry 26,935 passengers at one time. The establishment of
Selçuk University on the Istanbul Road to our developing and growing city,
which also received immigration, brought different transportation alternatives
to the agenda and the "Konya Urban Transportation Plan Synthesis and
Recommendations Report" was prepared in 1983 and adopted with the approval
of the Ministry.
In the same year, the State Planning
Organization was applied for the establishment of the Light Rail Transportation
System.29.03.1985 With a preliminary feasibility study on the date of
29.03.1985, the SPO was re-applied for the inclusion of the project in the
investment program, and an Investment Incentive Certificate was obtained on
03.10.1985. After the permissions obtained from the Prime Ministry,
Undersecretariat of Treasury and Foreign Trade, an international tender was
held on 06.05.1986 for the materials and services to be brought from abroad.
The tender was concluded on 15.05.1986 and a contract was signed with Siemens
on 24.05.1986. A loan agreement amounting to DM 38 million was signed on
09.07.1987 between the Republic of Turkey and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau
(Kfw), the German state institution providing external financing for the
project, and this amount was increased with the subsequent agreements. The
foundation of Konya Rail System Operation was laid by the Prime Minister of the
time on 13.07.1987 on the location of the Tramway storage area in Sakarya.
In addition, a consultancy tender was
made in accordance with the loan granted, this tender was won by the German
Obermeyer-Rail Consult company and a consultancy contract was signed with this
company on 23.10.1987. While the construction works were in progress, the first
of the 16 trams included in the tender started to be transported from Cologne
on 25.11.1988. In the Rail System Operation, the provincial movement was
carried out between the Warehouse and the Republic by electrifying the tram no.
104 from the system on 15.04.1992. On 28.09.1992, the public business started
free of charge in the 10.5 km section between Aladdin and the Republic, and
then the paid business started. After the construction and installation works
of the 8 km part of the system between the Republic and the Campus were
completed, the trial flights started on 21.12.1995 and were put into operation
by the President of the time with a ceremony held on 19.04.1996.
The company, which started service with 16 Trams, has reached 60 Tram fleet in
the province of purchases based on needs over time. All of the tram wagons were
purchased from Cologne Municipality Transportation Enterprises KVB. Wagons are
unidirectional 8-axle 2 articulated vehicles manufactured in Dusseldorf Düwag
wagon factories between 1963-67. It has a total capacity of 331 passengers, 30
mt. width and 2.5 mt.83 seats. There are 2 direct current motors in each of the
vehicles, 150 Kw. All assembly and construction works of the 18.5 km line
between Alaaddin-University campus were carried out by the teams of our
Municipality, the electro-mechanical equipment used was supplied from Germany
by Siemens, and the sleepers on the Railway were purchased from TCDD's Afyon
Sleeper factory. All materials and equipment in the system are new and only
tram wagons have been purchased as used. Approximately 120 personnel, including
8 engineers, worked in the construction of the rail system. Until the end of
1996, a total of DM 51.5 million was spent, including DM 30 million in foreign
loans and DM 81.5 million in internal expenditures from the municipality's own
resources. As of the end of 2006, the enterprise, which provides service for
18.5 km and 24 hours between Alaaddin campus with 60 vehicles, has the capacity
to carry 12,000 passengers in 1 hour in 1 direction. There are 30 stops between
Aladdin campus, 9 of which have a turnstile system. The rail span in the
railway is 1435 mm. The voltage in the catenary system is 750 V direct current
and is fed from 6 points.
The workshop has a closed area of 6385 m2. There are 231 personnel, 10of whom
are engineers, working in the enterprise. In 1989, the Municipality of Konya,
which became a Metropolitan Municipality in accordance with the law numbered
3030, ended with the establishment of the Konya Water and Sewerage
Administration (KOSKİ), and since 1990, the activities related to public
transportation have continued under the name of "Public Transportation
Enterprise". With the establishment of the Public Transportation
Department in 1997, the Public Transportation Administration also ended. When
the Public Transportation Department was first established, it consisted of two
units: Bus Operation Directorate and Rail System Directorate. With the
establishment of the Rail System Department in 2003, it was separated from the
Public Transportation in the units related to the Rail System. With the
separation of the rail system from the Public Transportation Department, the
Public Transportation Department carried out the part of the services related
to Public Transportation that should be carried out by bus, while the Rail
System Department carried out the part of the Transportation related to the
Tramway, the Rail System Department was abolished on 02.08.2006 due to the
implementation of the norm staff and transformed into the Transportation
Department, which included the Bus Operation Branch Office of Transportation
Services, the Rail System Branch Office and the Public Transportation Branch
Offices. In order to provide safe,regular, economic,rational and continuous
transportation services of our city, the Department of Transportation arranges
the travel timetables, makes arrangements when necessary, and the bus requests
required for the social and cultural activities of schools, non-governmental
organizations and public institutions are met within certain dimensions and
opportunities.
