New Bus services in Doha

I just saw these bus-stops that have sprung up all along the Doha Corniche. The much anticipated bus service is going to be launched by Mowsalat on the 23 October 2005. I think it's going to bring much needed relief to the city's transport system - especially considering the state of the taxi system. The phasing out of the old orange taxi's are is causing a severe shortage of taxi's on the road. Karwa (also owned by Mowsalat) run the shiny new green taxi's just hasn't been able to cope with the demand. People have complained about phoning 458 8888 (the Karwa hotline) to book a taxi hours in advance, just to be told by a call centre agent that there are no taxi's available for the rest of the day. Others have complained about taxi's arriving up to an hour late (if at all). 

Here are some details from the Peninsula:

Route number 76 will see buses plying at 20-minute intervals between Mowasalat's temporary bus terminus at the Grand Hamad Avenue and the City Centre in the West Bay, while route 33 is between the bus terminus and the Industrial Area. The services will be rolled out all over the capital and other cities of Qatar in a phased manner up to January 31, 2006.

The new bus service should make life much easier for visitors and workers in Doha.