There has been massive growth in the number of people using public buses in Qatar, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) highlighted yesterday. 

An increase of 40 percent in public bus ridership has been recorded since 2015 until the end of 2018, according to MoTC. 

"This is ascribed to significant enhancement works carried out by the ministry to boost the performance efficiency of the public bus service and increase ridership, in co-ordination with Mowasalat (Karwa)," MoTC stated.

The efforts taken in this regard include introducing bus routes to cover new destinations and improving existing ones, MoTC underlined. 

Additionally, the MoTC has launched five new airport bus express services, linking Al Khor, The Pearl-Qatar, West Bay, Al Matar Al Qadeem and the industrial areas to Hamad International Airport.

“These enhancements have proven so popular that ridership to and from HIA has increased by nearly 90 percent over the last year and exceeded 1mn passengers, compared to 2017,” the MoTC statement added.

Exponential Growth in Public Bus Ridership#Qatar#قطر pic.twitter.com/x7RRqMm4vq

— المواصلات والاتصالات (@MOTC_QA) August 24, 2019

The improvements in existing bus routes cover the areas of the West Bay, The Pearl-Qatar and Lagoona Mall. These comprise of more frequent timetables, improvements to smartcard purchase and top-up options, and increased marketing and information about bus services, including the development and launch of the Karwa bus mobile application.

To further complement these efforts, a network of Doha Metro 'Metrolink' feeder bus routes has been introduced to support Metro operations. 

At least 24 new routes have been introduced since April this year, transporting people to and from Red Line stations in the West Bay area to Al Wakrah while 25 more will be launched when the other two Doha Metro lines enter service.

The ‘Metroexpress’ service was also launched for users in the West Bay area as part of efforts to providing integrated transport solutions. 

This is a free trial ride-sharing service, which currently covers the West Bay QIC and DECC station areas. 

In addition to this, MoTC plans to develop four new locations for buses in Al Qassar, Al Wakrah, Lusail City and Education City, as well as open up five new bus stops in the Al Sudan area, Lusail City, Al Wakrah, the Industrial Area, Msheireb and Gharaffa, as well as set up four new bus depots that will have bus stops, bus care centers and housing and recreational facilities for the operating company’s staff. 

Moreover, about 627 electric buses and their associated charging equipment will be imported and put into operation next year. 

By doing so, "Qatar will become the first country in the region to have a full fleet of electric buses for public transit," MoTC said.

"The move to procure electric buses represents the MoTC’s strong commitment to sustainable and environment-friendly public transportation, aiming to make all public buses in Qatar electric by 2030,” the ministry highlighted. 

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Cover Image Credit: Flickr/ Penny Wang