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Passengers have urged transport authorities to boost frequency of some bus services, particularly on weekends, and stick to their original routes. |
One such route is No. 12, which many expatriates – particularly Filipinos – use in large numbers on Fridays and Saturdays to go to the Religious
Complex in Mesaimeer.
Of late, however, commuters have been complaining that buses on this route are not only irregular but take longer time to reach the terminal. They point out that it takes them longer to reach their destination as the bus goes via Barwa City, around 2km away from the original route to the Religious Complex.
“A bus that we boarded to reach the Religious Complex took about 15 minutes more than usual to reach the destination because of its diversion through Barwa City,” said Tom, a Filipino expatriate, who usually travels to the area by bus on weekends.
Besides the change in route, commuters also complain of “poor” frequency on the route.
Rolando, a friend of Tom’s, said they boarded a bus running on route No. 12 from a stop within the city after waiting under the sun for over 30 minutes. The frequency mentioned on the route board was less, he pointed out.
Tom said more passengers would use the route on weekends if the buses were to ply at regular and shorter intervals.
Other passengers said they have to take two, or sometimes even three, buses to reach the Religious Complex area due to the “poor” frequency of buses running on route No. 12.
Recalling his experience while going to the church area a fortnight ago, a commuter living in the Fereej Abdul Aziz area said he first went to the central bus station, took No 20 from there and got down near the Woqod petrol station on Industrial
Area Road.
“After waiting there for more than 20 minutes, I finally managed to get a No. 12 bus to reach the Religious Complex area. However, as it went through Barwa City, it took me another 30-35 minutes to reach my
destination,” he added.
While people also have the option of taking bus No. 12X to reach the Religious Complex, commuters point out that the rush on weekends is such that this service, too, proves
inadequate.
Some commuters said if a few buses to the Religious Complex are operated through the road to Mesaimeer, lying in the vicinity of Barwa Village, it will make things a lot more convenient for people going to the locality.
Meanwhile, a Mowasalat official cited ongoing road works in different places as the main obstacle to expanding the company’s public transport
operations.
When told about the diversion of the No 12 service through Barwa City, he said Mowasalat wants to give “maximum bus access to the country’s residents and the diversion is part of its plans in this direction”.
On increasing the frequency of bus services to the Religious Complex area, he said this would be done in the coming days in view of the growing
demand among commuters.