The rising mercury level in the country is prompting many commuters to avoid using public bus services during the day, it is learnt.

This is primarily due to the absence of covered shelters in most places, which exposes them to the heat and burning sun as they wait for a bus to arrive, say passengers.

Recent visits to a number of bus stops in Doha during the day revealed that most of them, including some that would normally remain busy, did not have any passenger waiting there even though bus services were being run as usual.

Even within the Industrial Area, where the demand for Karwa bus services is generally high, the number of passengers during the day has fallen sharply - particularly between 8am and 3pm, say sources.

The situation, though, changes in the evening when the bus stops wear their usual busy look.

Speaking to Gulf Times, some regular bus users stressed that the lack of covered shelters was the main reason why they were avoiding bus travel. "Waiting under the burning sun for a bus is quite unbearable these days," said a Karwa smartcard holder. "Sometimes we have to wait for a long time before a bus arrives. This is something bus users like me cannot afford to do now as we may fall ill due to the scorching heat."

Besides uncovered shelters, commuters point out that buses are an inconvenient option in the prevailing circumstances also because they sometimes have to walk a fair distance to reach their destination from a bus stop. This is why many such commuters - mostly low-income workers - are choosing to use taxis at present, as travelling in them gives them the option of being dropped off at a convenient location, it is found.

The workers form groups to hail a cab or, if travelling alone, look to board shared cabs that are available at many key locations in the city.

One such place is the Doha Bus Station (DBS) in the heart of the city. A busy transport hub otherwise, the number of passengers has dropped at the DBS, too, during the day. Such has been the weather of late that many people are unwilling to spend time waiting for a bus at the DBS despite the availability of covered shelters there.

"It's been really hot over the last few days. While the bus station does have a covered waiting area, many passengers are not keen on waiting for a bus - which may take a while in some cases - and prefer using the shared taxis available in the area. By doing so, they can save time by not having to wait for a bus and also because they get to reach their destination relative quickly and are dropped at a place close to where they want to go. Finding passengers for shared taxis is usually not a problem," said another commuter.

The demand for covered bus shelters - as well as air-conditioned ones - has been reiterated by commuters on a number of occasions. While announcements on better facilities at bus stops have been made in the past, the situation on the ground has not improved much and people have to wait for buses while being exposed to the heat and sun, say passengers.

A handful of covered bus shelters have come up in some areas but these are inadequate, they point out.

It was learnt from the Mowasalat authorities that it had not been possible to build covered bus shelters on many roads due to major infrastructure development works taking places at a number of locations.