Mowasalat 12X service running between Doha Bus Station and Religious Complex has remarkably good patronage on Fridays. Passengers are now requesting for a diversion of the route while travelling towards the Religious Complex area. Picture: Jayan Orma
By Ramesh Mathew
Staff Reporter
Bus travellers using Mowasalat's 12X service have appealed to the authorities to consider diverting the route towards the Religious Complex on weekends for the convenience of numerous people travelling to the area for attending religious services there.
They said the authorities could consider using the newly opened F-Ring Road from Al Thumama Signal to ferry passengers going towards the Religious Complex area. They said the new route provides not only an easy connection to the area but also would help the buses save considerable time as well as fuel.
"The return journey of the services to the Central Bus Station could still be continued through the present route of Barwa City Signal, Medical Commission Signal, Hilal areas, Gulf Cinema Signal and Mansoura," suggested another passenger, who also travels regularly on the weekends between Mansoura and the Religious Complex area.
It seems the passengers have a valid point as the Medical Commission does not function on the weekends and no one uses the service to reach the Medical Commission on Fridays and Saturdays.
Almost 99% of those using the service on the weekends travel directly to the Religious Complex area, inquiries found.
The public transport bus services to the Religious Complex area have good patronage on Fridays and also in the evenings on Saturdays, inquiries found.
Passengers availing of the services on Route No 12X told this newspaper that most of those travelling to the Religious Complex area board the bus from the points between the Central Bus Station and Woqod Petrol Station on Najma Street in Al Hilal area.
After the Mall Signal the bus takes a longer route to reach the Medical Commission Signal and travels further through Doha-Industrial Area Road for more than 2 kilometres to reach the Barwa City Signal before turning towards the Religious Complex for more than 4 kilometres.
"The present route is not only time consuming but there is very little patronage of passengers from any stops after the one near Woqod Petrol Station in Al Hilal," said a Filipino expatriate who uses the service on Fridays to reach the Religious Complex.
When inquiries were made at the Central Bus Station about the possibility of diverting the bus operations to the Religious Complex area on the weekends through the newly opened F-Ring Road, one of the officials said the decision needs to come from the Mowasalat Mass Transit Department.
Inquiries found Mowasalat services' best patronage on Friday mornings come mainly from the passengers travelling between Doha and Religious Complex and vice-versa. The buses between the two locations run to their full capacity on Fridays, it has been found.