Dear Sir,
There is a good argument for changing school timings to ease traffic congestion during peak hours in Qatar.
It is quite obvious that the peak-hour traffic is much lighter during school holidays. So a change in school hours should be considered seriously as part of measures to reduce rush-hour traffic. The timing should ideally be from 9am to 3pm. Schools in many countries already follow these hours.
Some schools have already increased their bus fees, making many parents to ferry their children to school and back home. This means more traffic on the road.
Parents should explore the idea of car pooling in this context. It is a sustainable method of transportation.
Companies can do their bit by arranging transport to pick up and drop off their staff so that the number of personal vehicles on roads can be reduced.
Also, public transport authorities can schedule buses to areas where schools are concentrated.
CV
(Full name and e-mail address supplied)
Our unfair taxi drivers
Dear Sir,
I have been living in Qatar for the last two years and using taxi to get around. And my experience has not been exactly pleasant. I have noticed that taxi drivers often charge passengers more than the normal fare and many times I have had arguments with them over this.
Many of them exploit their customers through different ways. Their “methods” include tampering with meters, accelerating unnecessarily too many times, putting black tape partially covering the “0” to make it look like “1” and taking longer routes to reach the passengers’ destinations.
I have complained about these to officials concerned several times but more often than not they fall on deaf ears. But still my message to the public is not to become a victim and must take the trouble to notify authorities concerned about the offending drivers. At the end of the day, it’s not just about paying a few extra riyals but to discourage such culture from thriving and becoming a common practice in Qatar.
Muhammad Qasim Malik
(e-mail address supplied)
