Chairman Of S.S. Pinarhisar Highway Freight Transport And Management Cooperative, Osman Ekkazan: ''Delaying The Tachograph And U-Etds Regulations Were Not Good For Transportation''

"NEW APPLICATIONS COMING WITH THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LEGISLATION WILL SOLVE MANY OF OUR PROBLEMS"

"OUR YOUNG PEOPLE DO NOT SEE THIS JOB AS REASONABLE"

Ekkazan, who made important evaluations on many issues regarding the sector, said: “The tachograph and U-ETDS regulations that will come into force at the beginning of the year regarding the transportation sector have been postponed, but should not have been postponed. Postponing tachograph and U-ETDS regulations has not been good for transport trades.”

Talking about the working areas of the cooperative, Ekkazan: With Limak Cement, there is also the Çerkezköy-Kapıkule construction of the Çerkezköy-Halkalı-Kapıkule high-speed train line that started last year and will continue for 3 years. We have a work with them this year. At the same time, we are loading ships. Limak Cement's clinker export has started again. We loaded it in August and September, now October ship docked and we're filling it. We have local coal mines in Malkara- Uzunköprü- Keşan region; we transport the coals extracted from those coal mines to industrial facilities in Istanbul, Izmit, Adapazarı and Bolu. In general, our vehicle capacity is sufficient. Sometimes when things get low, we can have idle capacity. "

"The Damaging Cooperative Means Being Managed By An Amateur"

Ekkazan pointed out that cooperative management should be professional and cooperatives should not lose money: “Cooperatives should be managed according to the Road Transport Law and the administrations should be more professional. The supervision of the cooperatives should be made more comfortable and there should be more transparent structures. Currently, there is Koopbis, but if the cooperatives become remotely controllable, it will grow more and the area will be more efficient. Cooperatives are institutions that should not lose money. When a cooperative does a loss, it should be looked at as "why did it harm? It should be made non-destructive, because cooperatives receive dues from their members and make various deductions from the work they give and receive. I think the loss-making cooperative is run by an amateur. Cooperatives are not institutions that are built on making a lot of profit, but they should not make a loss.”

“Tachograph And U-ETDS Regulations Postponed; However, It Should Not Have Been Postponed "

Stating that U-ETDS and tachograph regulations should not be postponed and this situation is not good for shipping trades, Ekkazan said: “The logistics has not stopped, it has accelerated and it seems that it will accelerate even more. The country is developing, the population is increasing. The tachograph and U-ETDS regulations for the transport sector, which will come into force at the beginning of the year, were postponed, but should not have been postponed. Postponing tachograph and U-ETDS regulations has not been good for transport trades. The driver tradesmen oppose these regulations because of their habits, they do not want to change their habits. In fact, if these habits changed, everyone's well-being would increase. For example, we cannot find a driver in this sector because our youth do not see this job as a viable job. It does not offer a comfortable life, on the contrary, it offers a uncomfortable life. Long working hours are the reason here. "

I said "Our Sector Will Reach Where It Deserves" and I'm Happy "

Speaking about the postponement of the regulations, Ekkazan said: “When I heard and read this regulation, I said “our industry will probably reach where it deserves” and I am happy. The regulation came into force on January 1, and we started working on January 2. The phones started ringing; They said "what will happen, what will we do". When the companies that we do shipping called, they said "you will not be able to assign tonnage, can you come to that price?". We told them we couldn't go. They said that if we cannot go, the price cannot be taken. So we said 'let's stop, wait'. Everyone said that industrialists could not get prices, but in September 2018, although the price of everything on the market shelves increased, did we stop purchasing? Maybe we made a brand change, we bought the second brand, not the first. However, we continued to purchase; because these are needs. I told this to the suppliers of the industrialist, whose shipping I do. I said, "We have experienced this, related to this, prices may increase, the price will rise, as a result, our prices will find their place."

"They Find the Healthiest Point to Get Data"

Ekkazan, who made evaluations about U-ETDS, said that; “The Ministry will work on what and what kind of a regulation without taking the necessary data. They had found the healthiest point where data could be taken, and from there we would upload that data to them. Today, there are no drivers who do not know how to use a smartphone. All of them have a smart phone in their pockets, they check their bank accounts on those phones, and they are absolutely able to do that. Even if they couldn't, I found a solution for this too: we said “We will employ a staff for this. He will call, give the information, then make the entries.”

"There Will be the Order In the Sector, It Will Be A Workable Sector In Terms Of The Drivers That We Can't Find"

Making evaluations about the tachograph application, Ekkazan stated that the tachograph application is a useful application contrary to what is mentioned and said that; “If the infrastructure had been prepared previously, there would be a parking lot when the four and a half hours are full, even if not, all our vehicles do not work on the highways. They are for vehicles that travel on the highway for 4 and a half hours, but they do not have to fill the 4 and a half hours each time they walk. Even if you can't find a parking space, you'll get out of a box office. The box office is close to a county; there would be a place and this situation would be resolved. "

"One of Our Biggest Challenges is the Need for a Quality Driver"

Ekkazan, who continues his evaluation of the tachograph application, said that; “I worked internationally at the age of 24. I saw the comfort of this in Europe. There is a tachograph application. If you work for 4 and a half hours, you have to rest for 45 minutes, and if you work 9 hours, you have 10 hours of rest per day. In Turkey, they said it would be a very big issue, in fact, was not a huge issue. If the drivers can have a plan and try to drive for  9 hours or 10 hours, this 500 kilometers with the road conditions in Turkey. If you have already traveled 500 kilometers today, do not chase a thousand kilometers. If you traveled 500 kilometers, rest at 500 kilometers; this should be ensured. It was said that "Not with these prices"; prices would change anyway. In other words, he would go from Kırklareli to Ankara in a day and a half today. What he would do in two days, he would do it in three days; but the shipping price of 2 units would also increase to 3 units, which would close it. There should be and order in the sector, and it would be a workable sector for the drivers that we can’t find. Since this sector is not in this situation, one of our biggest problems is the need for qualified drivers. I am glad to hear that; ‘Even our friends who are college or university graduates will apply to us after a while; I said, "This sector will be seen reasonable, this sector will relax" but it did not happen.”

“Tonnage Is Our Biggest Problem; Currently Working Tonnages Are Not Legal Tonnages ”

Talking about the problems the industry is experiencing, Ekkazan said: “Excessive tonnage must be resolved because excessive tonnage causes an unstable competition. In other words, we are a cooperative while calculating the cost and we have to calculate the cost from the legal tonnage. Because the jobs we receive are registered, the jobs we give a letter of guarantee. On the other hand, when you look at it, the person in front of you made a cost calculation with excess tonnage and gave a price accordingly. Tonnage is our biggest problem; The tonnages currently worked are not legal tonnages. Another problem is working hours. Our biggest problems are the ones that are considered to be solved this year. With the enforcement of the legislation, the new applications that come into force will solve many of our problems. It will solve most of them directly and indirectly to our driver problem. "

"We Should Do Our Account As The Individuals Of The Sector"

Drawing attention to the cost increases, Ekkazan said: “As the individuals of the sector, we must make good calculations while making our calculations. Now our friends are calculating, the fuel prices have been the same for 3 years, maybe 4 years. Both the industrialist and the supplier of the industrialist say that "fuel has not increased". Fuel did not increase, the price of vehicle we bought when the euro was 3 liras has become 9 liras today; there is a 3-fold difference between the price of the vehicle we buy. At the end of 2016, we could buy a brand - new vehicle and a new trailer for 350 thousand liras, now it is 1 million 200 thousand liras. Vehicle, part price, employee cost and living costs increased. It is not only the diesel and diesel price to be taken as a basis here, but the 800 liras of tire today is 3 thousand liras. It doesn't just happen with fuel, and fuel is not a comparison. There are many individuals in this sector who do not know how to calculate. As such, this becomes one of the biggest problems.”