Smartcard must for bus travel from Feb 21
By timebandit •
The public transport company Mowasalat has made it mandatory for people travelling by its buses to use the newly-introduced Karwa smartcards from February 21.
The decision to stop accepting cash for tickets was taken by the company in view of the increasing popularity of the smartcards, it said in a statement. It said more passengers were using the cards now.
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http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=413211...
some bus drivers said mowasalat decided to require them just so the crooks at their purchasing department can take kickbacks from the new machines and cards. the old machines had topup cards too and they could've just built from that.
Its a good move as long as the smart cards are readily available for purchase/charging.
yep, they're going to require smartcards now. i take the bus to work everyday since my flat's location has a bus stop just across the street, and the bus route also has a bus stop at my office building so it's pretty convenient. fare charges are supposed to be determined by gps tracking depending on the distance you travel but the fares charged on my card are always different everytime. it's anywhere between 2 riyals and 3 riyals per trip even if i get on and off at the same bus stops everyday. the current manual ticket system has a flat fare of 3 riyals so i get to save a few dirhams everyday with the smartcard. if the machine is broken you get to ride for free. apart from having the right to get those men seated on the front seats to move elsewhere so i can have a seat because ladies are prioritized.
now the bus drivers won't ask to keep my ticket when i get off and re-use them for other passengers so they can keep my 3 riyals. but it would be unfair for tourists (if any), those who are new to qatar and those who ride occasionally. i only discovered the convenience and relative safety of bus rides on my second month here when my colleague and i once had difficulty hailing a cab then walked along bank street trying to find one until we reached the bus station. we just asked the bus drivers which one goes to our area and found out that there is a bus stop right next to our place. i save around 500 riyals worth of cab fares every month when i take the bus.
if they want to control cheaters they can simply put a locked box beside the driver's seat where people without cards can put their fares into and the driver can't touch it like the ones they have in other places. they wont get change though and have to pay the exact fare.
before introducing mandatory smartcards, how about introducing some buses eh?
I guess it is just another safe guard against cheaters.
Lol..Snessy... the Bus, the Cab and the Tourist... are all an extinct species here... especially after the AFC Cup... lol
Dear Lord
Please give ladies the strength and fortitude to leave Villagio and coffee bars and venture into the real world.
Wow! First buses, now you're telling me there are tourists here!
Its good for security reasons...
For Tourist they should provide one on arrival... one which can be used on Metro, the Bus, and the cabs...
Why Jack? Do you need an RP to get a bus ticket? What about tourists? Oh wait, what am I saying!?!?!
The drivers used to sell used tickets...
It is good....this also will bar illegal people people from using the bus.
Thanks Brit, you've just made my day :-)
Pikey, have you seen My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding? It's fab....
Yeah lots of buses and very little bus stops. Sometimes you have passengers waiting at the bus stops and the bus drivers just driving by. Most of the buses have nice big numbers on them if only the Karwa guys could also mention beside the numbers what places they are going to it would make it easier for the passengers to get on the right buses.
Pikey is enjoying a fresh lease of life looking at his posts..
Aye Aye Snessy there are also a lot of stuff that you can get from the back of the lorry. Instead of the lorry, here you will find them in shops in Souq Waqif selling such stuff. They make Pikey's like us look bad!
YOU don't need bus stops..
They'll stop for you anywhere :O)
hehehehe there are buses here sness and there is i think an air-conditioned bus stop along corniche.
There are buses here?? There aren't many pavements so where are the bus stops?
thank God, i bought smart car on time to get rid of smart card!!
do you think this will work?
Brit, you beat me to it!
Perhaps the real reason is to stop drivers from pocketing some of the cash..
TFS TB !
now i will be extra smart to use those smart cards.