Mowasalat runs buses despite fewer passengers

By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

Though there has been a significant drop in the number of passengers since the beginning of the summer and the start of the vacation season, Mowasalat says its public transport buses are being operated without fail on most of its routes punctually.

The Central Bus Station wears a deserted look most of the time these days. It often seems that there are more taxi drivers waiting for customers near the bus station than those waiting to board buses. Many buses leave the station, carrying just two or three passengers. Some start their journey even without a single one on board.

When queried for the reasons for operating bus services without enough passengers, a Mowasalat official replied that the government transport company was duty-bound to ensure uninterrupted transportation for those residents who could not afford other means of transport.

He attributed the sharp fall in the number of passengers to a combination of factors, including the hot weather, change in duty hours in many offices and other establishments and the annual vacations among others.

The company has not cancelled even a single service on account of drop in the number of passengers and also on account of the summer even though some residents felt otherwise.

“Rather we are working extended hours these days because of Ramadan, taking into account the transport requirements in the evenings of many people using public transport buses for commuting,” the official said, adding that such services were operated even on long routes like Al Khor.

Officials at the bus station said there has been a fall in the number of bus passengers during day even at weekends. Except for a few routes like the one from the Central Station to the church complexes in Mesaimeer, most buses have only very few passengers even on Fridays.