By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

Bus passengers from across the country have urged Mowasalat to increase the frequencies on busy routes, especially in the peak hours and during weekends.
The demand comes as the public transport company has joined as a partner of the International Association of Public Transport’s (UITP) campaign “Grow with Public Transport.”
Many complain that even eight years after the public transport service was introduced, they forced to take at least two buses to reach their final destinations, even on short trips.
“Hence there is no special advantage in possessing the all-route Karwa smart card,” said a regular traveller.
A resident who travels by bus at least four times a day ever since Mowasalat started the service in October 2005, felt the frequency on some routes is very bad and people sometimes have to wait for
even more than an hour.
Some passengers from Fariq Bin Omran said it was extremely difficult to get buses in the morning hours.
Many who regularly use the service from the Central Bus Station to the Church Complexes area especially on Fridays, which is perhaps the busiest sector in the mornings thanks to the patronage mainly by the Filipinos, said they had to wait for a long time to get a bus.
“Even though we largely benefit from the services, we lose valuable time waiting for connection buses,” said a Filipino expatriate, adding direct services must be launched to the Church Complexes area from places such as Bin Omran, Rayyan, Muaither, Al Khor and Wakrah on Friday mornings.
The bus service has not kept pace with the rise of the country’s population, many expatriates said.
A Mowasalat official said their services are operated on different sectors based on the actual requirements of the passengers from every route.