Mowasalat Taxi's

I would be more than happy to donate as long as the service becomes reliable and cars can be hailed anywhere in Doha.

Dear All,

Are you interested in donating money to improve public transportation of Qatar?

One Riyal each month from poor employees & four Riyals each month from rich employees will help a lot to pay the employees of Mowasalt.

It does not seem to me public transportation is being improved in Qatar.

Every day people go to driving school to get a light automobile driving licence.

Every day people open light automobile renting companies.

There is a bus system that is 1 year old. It needs lots of development (i.e. shady bus stops)

By 2010 Mowasalt might be a 1 option for tranportation in Qatar.

Please let all of us encourage public transportation.

well regarding karwas. I had ordered one last night for this morning. However, it was 8am and it was not here. I had no credit and could not call them. Left house evenutally 8.10. I eventually went down into calling them at 9.30 and they told me "sorry but DAGOC took 450 taxis from us today ... do u want one know, i might be able to get you one in one hour"

I will not comment further.

i agree with Novita, taxi fare is relative...high income earners are luckier.

just wonder why local investors did not see this market demand. Seems there's only one taxi company in Doha and can't fill all the needs.

just my 2 riyal worth ...

most senior expats here have their own car (either renting or buying). If they do need a taxi, for them the fare cost nothing. Especially if u come from first world country.

i feel for general labour that have to pay for taxi to go from point A to point B. Sometimes they share taxis from Doha to Mesaieed or other places where their labour camp located. For them paying 10 QR taxi fare is alot when they only earn 500 QR a month. For senior expat who earn 10.000 QR paying 10 QR is nothing.

when mowasalat get fully sorted, hopefully it would connect more remote places to Doha town.

I haven't been here very long--only 4 months--but Mowasalat has never turned me down when I book a car a day before. Sure, sometimes they are an hour late or don't show up at all, but most of the time they are somewhat reliable.

The price difference is not out-of-context at all. Expats get their housing paid for them AND get just about equivalent salaries. If anything, the relative price of transportation is even lower than I considered before.

Comparisons between UK or West in general and Doha is out of context and inaccurate.

VAT anyone. Hello Poll Tax. MOT, please.

Mowasalat do not always take bookings a day ahead, I've tried and they've told me to call an hour or so before the trip. Guess what? No cab. And you can't always plan your trips a day ahead.

Chill out.

Saladin, u defenitely right :-) But i still prefer the comfort of my own car.

What are you guys complaining so much about? If you want a taxi, reserve one the day before. 458-8888

And what is up with this "overpricing" thing?? Even the ones that charge a high amount are NOTHING compared to British or American taxis/transports. When I was in Heathrow, I wanted to visit central london at the time, but they wanted to charge 14 pounds on the paddington express or whatever it's called, not to mention another 14 pounds on the way back.

28 pounds is around 150 Riyals. That is UNHEARD of in Qatar. You could get to the next town for that much! In America, if I wanted to get from say, City Center to the Airport, I would have to pay about 20 USD, or almost 80 riyals!

You guys have got so spoiled to the cheap transportation in the Middle East that you actually have the cojones to complain that the limousines are too expensive?

The next time you pay one of the guys the 30 or so Riyals he demands, remember that a pint of the cheapest piss-poor beer in Britain costs more.

yes, can't beat the convenience of your own car in Doha. I managed 2 years without a car in Singapore. But in Doha no car means no life. School run, birthday parties, after school activities, play dates, coffee morning, groceries and so on.

Yes the traffic jam is a pain, but what else can you do? I can't afford to hire a driver, I am the driver for the brat in the family :-)

oh my...it seems ill be forced to take a "smelly bus" to my work and back, not enough budget to buy a car yet. alicat, is it really smelly?

if im a local and have some funds, ill establish a transport business there...it appears demand is great.

Taxis are unavailable during the morning and afternoon peak times.

Mowasalt has contracts for school runs and transporting female employees. It is virtually impossible to get a taxi during these times.

While Mowasalat continues to expand they are consistently failing in providing the local market with enough taxis, knowledgeable and professional drivers and a proper network coverage.

They started a bus service but neglected to plan the bus-stops. All they are is basically a sign under the blazing sun.

You cannot even email them. How about that for a 21st Century company.

http://www.mowasalat.com/eng/

Mowasalat will handle the Asian Games influx efficiently... by withdrawing hundreds of taxis earmarked for public use and pressing them into Asian Games service.

Forewarned is forearmed.

In Doha there is no alternative to owning a car. Unfortunately.

Transport is a nightmare in Doha, what is the biggest laugh, is that now in the mornings when people need taxis, they have taken loads of drivers off the road for 'training'! Is that driving training or location training? As far as I can see Xena is right loads of taxis driving around empty; maybe they are 'training'. Alternatives are well get on a smelly bus - not a choice really - or buy a car where other problems start,like putting up with crazy drivers and endless traffic jams... Is Qatar really going to be ready for the Asian Games? If they cannot get transportation sorted then I feel that will be no. Good luck everyone who is trying to get a taxi on a Friday

hi angel face, ill be working at dohabank. transpo over there is really one among my concerns. im afraid ill get lost.

hi, saang bangko ka?

are there no buses in Doha or light rail transit as other options for commuters? i'll be working there starting 4th week of sept and will add up as new commuter.

Basically the transport system in Qatar sucks. And if we want to get anywhere we are forced to pay overpriced rates to private cars making a quick buck. I'm not against the private drivers making money, that's their biz. But the country should have some form of public transport which canbe relied upon.

How do we address this issue and to who?

Exactly.

My response to Qwerty then, is, if they are pre booked and are on their way to a pick up.... switch of the little light thingy on top of the car.... then I will know not to bother trying to flag them down.....

X

They're going to have 2500 on the road by next year.

They've already had one chairman sacked so if things aren't straightened out in a few months there'll be more trouble.

The service is a joke. The booking service has never worked. Taxis cannot be hailed in the streets simply because you can not see any...1000 cars? WHERE ARE THEY????

Taxis that do not stop whilst you are trying to flag them down, are either pre-booked and on route to their pick-up, or on their way back to base at the end of their shift. Taxi drivers that fail to pick up a fares are subject to disciplinary action.

At present, there is no means of communications between drivers and base, except for mobile phone.

Let me know if he fails to meet your expectations and I'll straighten him out.

Thanks so much e46m3......

Will put his number on my mobile...

X

Call Abdul Razaq 582-0742.

He's never let me down.

I agree with you..buy/rent is the way to go...I am not sure of your inclination though..the traffic looks bad..but once you start driving its ok..you can win...

TG

I am not so sure that's the way to go either..... I have a friend who has 4 limo services. We went out the one evening and it took us 3 hours calling at different times to find one of them that would fetch us from Lina's..... which is on one of the major routes through Doha.....

So to me it would seem like no one is very reliable when it comes to transport.....

X

Gefs,

Please don't start.LOL...Xena, Taxis are horrible...buy/rent a car or be nice with a few Taxi fellas by tipping a few riyals more in one of your trips..and get their mobile numbers(find fellas who speak good English)..Call them when ever you need a ride..thats way it works...A few riyals more saves a hassle of an hour standing on the road...

do not get me started with them.

Even after all this, more and more taxis they do not seem to improve.

I have called in the past outside Rydges around midnite, there were maybe 30 Karwas waiting outside but I called to order for a taxi from QBC (Qatar Bowling Centre); maybe 200 metres away and they told me they had no taxis for 1 hour.

I then went into and told them a little about themselves and their incompetency.

I have had the experience sooooooooooo many times like you. If only they stopped they'd know that I was going exactly the direction their going!!!

I have no idea what is going on there but its sheer incompetency.

Do they know if their hiring? I'd like to go there and sort them out for the benefit of us ALL.

Whilst I'm there i might as well work for ashgal too.

I'm actually sure anyone with common sense and basic business skills could do a much better job than them.

over and out