Doha

The users of free shuttle services plying within the West Bay areas will be issued a Karwa smartcard for their journeys.
The commuters will be issued the card free for their journeys until March 10 but they need to pay QR10 after the date if they want to take the shuttle services in the area, Mowasalat said in a statement.
“All that one needs to do while using the card is to tap the card on the validator inside the bus while alighting. Existing Karwa smartcard holders can also use the services free of cost and no charges will be debited from their smartcard," said the statement.
"However, no money would be deducted from the smartcard for using the bus services while travelling inside the areas where the shuttles are operated. Instead the same card could be redeemed while travelling in Mowasalat buses on other routes," said a Mowasalat official.
The Ministry of Transport and Mowasalat have been operating free shuttle services in the West Bay since January last year with the aim of facilitating easy traffic in the area. The transport authorities hope to overcome the challenges arising from traffic congestion in the area and non-availability of parking spaces there, with the effective use of the bus shuttles by the residents.
Mowasalat said the commuter rate in the shuttle services has gone up and the Ministry of Transport hopes more people would be using the services as their first choice of travel in the area in the coming days. The ministry also expects a big fall in the number of single occupancy vehicles in the area with the effective use of the public transport for travels.
According to a ministry statement, 12 buses are operating in the area between 6am and 12 midnight, seven days a week at an interval of 15 minutes and the services are covering as many as 36 bus stops.
While Blue Line services cover City Center Doha, the Corniche and General Post Office, Red Line links City Center, Al Bidda Street and Khalifa Tennis Complex, stopping at all major hotels, offices and residential towers in the West Bay.
Commuters now using the shuttle buses can use the card on Karwa public transport services after topping it up at Karwa smartcard outlets across Doha and suburbs.