DOHA: With the cash payment system for tickets in public buses in the country is scheduled to end tomorrow, many passengers have called for an extension of the deadline.
Mowasalat sources hinted yesterday a one week grace period is likely to be given to passengers to fully comply with the new ticketing system using the Karwa smartcards, after expiry of the February 21 deadline.
All bus passengers are required to hold a valid Karwa smartcard, once the cash payment system is finally eliminated. Those who don't have a card and still want to travel on a bus will have to pay a "no card fee" of QR10. A Mowasalat official said that demand for the smartcards had gone up manifold since the company announced the February 21 deadline about a month ago.
"We have given enough time for passengers to switch over to the new system since the smartcards were launched on November 24. We have also launched an extensive campaign to make people aware of the new system. Notices have been put in all public buses in various languages announcing the February 21 deadline. No passenger who had travelled on a public bus over the past one month can say that he is ignorant of the whole thing," said an official.
Some passengers, however, said that they could not buy the card until now because they were not easily accessible.
They urged Mowasalat to make the cards available in more outlets across the country.
"I tried to buy a card at the Karwa main bus terminal in Al Ghanim but failed because of the crowding there. I hope they will be made available in places where people can easily buy," said a passenger.
The QR30 cards and the top-ups are currently available at 55 outlets across the country, besides the main bus terminal in Al Ghanim. "Most of the bus passengers here are low-income workers and they naturally have many doubts about the new system. Some people are worried that they would lose money by using the smartcards. But once people start using the card, they find it very convenient and also economical," said the official.
© The Peninsula 2011
