At present, these services get "only a handful" of passengers most of the time as people find their routes to be of little use, they claim.
While seeking route alterations, the commuters point out that the existing operations only lead to a "waste of time and fuel" and do not serve their intended purpose. "It is true that buses pass through the locality where I stay but their long, unplanned and unsystematic routes force passengers to rely on alternative options to reach their destinations," said an expatriate living in the Al Mamoura area.
The resident said he has to travel from his accommodation to the Al Hilal area as there is no direct service between those places. As a result, he is forced to spend a lot of time travelling first to the Doha Bus Station (DBS) before catching another bus to his workplace.
Similar complaints have come from passengers living in other parts of Doha as well.
A teenager from Umm Ghuwailina said he has to attend tuition in Al Hilal but there is no direct connectivity between the two places. So, he has to go to the DBS first to catch a bus that will take him to his destination.
The general impression among many commuters is that though a number of bus services are available, their "unsystematic operations" prevent people from making proper use of them, it is learnt.
While "rerouting and better planning" of services are the main solutions suggested by commuters, some also feel that "mini buses" could be operated from every zone in the city to "interlinking onward points" from where they could reach their respective destinations.
For example, even if no direct services could be provided directly from Al Mamoura to the eastern or southern side of Al Hilal, passengers should at least be able to reach an inter-linking point close to their destination. They could be transported using "mini feeder buses" from such a point.
Passengers have also questioned the operation of four pairs of circular services (301 to 304) as they say "these are of little value to most commuters".
