Transport planning is complete ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP31, which Turkey will host in Antalya in November. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change is coordinating the effort. A total of 630 buses from 25 municipalities will serve conference participants.
All of the buses were manufactured at facilities in Turkey. The fleet includes 71 electric buses, 233 natural gas buses and 326 low-emission diesel buses.
Transport Network Across the Region
Ahmet Sami Kulaklıoğlu, Head of the Support Services Department at the Ministry, said COP31 is one of the largest organisations in the world. He noted that 196 countries are parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and that many delegations are expected at the summit.
Kulaklıoğlu said low-emission vehicles were prioritised in the transport plan. “We brought a total of 630 buses from 25 of our municipalities to Antalya to serve during COP,” he said.
Nineteen separate public transport routes have been set up. They will link hotels, the airport, the bus station and the city centre with the conference venue. The routes will cover areas where participants will stay, including Belek, Kundu, Lara, Kemer and Alanya.
The conference venue has two sections, the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. Kulaklıoğlu said they expect more than 50,000 participants per day in the Blue Zone and more than 100,000 in the Green Zone. The total venue covers 1.2 million square metres. It includes a car park with space for 5,000 cars and 400 buses.
Participants can also travel to the venue by tram from the city centre. Those arriving by tram will reach the Blue Zone via a pedestrian overpass. Those heading to the Green Zone will board electric buses departing from the car park.
New Natural Gas Refuelling Station
Kulaklıoğlu said Antalya had no natural gas buses before COP31. To fuel the buses brought in from other municipalities, a new natural gas refuelling station has been built. He said the station is complete and has started refuelling.
He added that the station will continue to serve the city after the summit. “This station will remain in Antalya’s public transport system as a legacy of COP. Natural gas, eco-friendly and low-emission buses will also serve on Antalya’s roads from now on,” he said.
Freight Scheduling to Reduce Congestion
A separate logistics plan has been prepared to reduce traffic during the summit. Trucks carrying materials to the venue will be directed to a designated area inside the car park. They will be checked by security units.
Material deliveries will take place between 21:00 and 06:00. The aim is to avoid disruption to daytime events, reduce traffic congestion and make it easier for participants to reach the venue.
