Doha, Qatar: The recent decision by Doha Metro and Lusail Tram has delighted commuters in Qatar, providing easy-to-use and hassle-free service.
Doha Metro on Thursday announced that travellers can now tap the MetroCard to make use of the Metrolink services as the Karwa Journey Planner application is no longer required.
The Peninsula reporter travelled from Fereej Bin Omran to Al Messila Station using the Metrolink and spoke with several individuals to understand how this decision benefitted or impacted them. Hani Ismael, a regular commuter ecstatically noted that this is “certainly a favourable” decision implemented by the Metro officials.
“I have been travelling on this (Metrolink) for three months now since I got a job offer in Doha and have always relied on the services. I missed the buses in the beginning when I was told by the drivers to install this (Karwa Journey Planner) application as I did not have it then. It used to be a big problem like being late to work. Glad it’s revised now,” he said.
Commuters like Ismael faced various challenges due to the “forced installation” of the application, which comes under Metro guidelines. Another traveller, Ibrahimkutty, a retail shop owner stressed that this has been a sigh of relief for commoners who are totally dependent on Metro. “I wouldn’t say this had been a major concern as we ought to use the application and abide by the rules of the transportation service, however, it’s more relaxed now with the Metro cards.”
He mentioned that during an emergency travel, using this application was not always the right option due to technical issues.
“I am not sure if the application had any failure in technical operations, but sometimes when I have to travel in a hurry, I open the application when the bus arrives, and it was always complicated to log in and causes delay. I have missed the Metrolink services a couple of times for the same reason,” the retail owner explained.
Rochelle Jasmine, a Philippine expat welcomed the announcement. “A good decision by Doha Metro because always we need to use our mobile data whenever we travel on this bus. But now, I am happy it’s changed and can use the same Metro cards we use at the station.”
On its social media accounts, Doha Metro and Lusail Tram stated that card holders are now allowed to tap their cards, standard and gold club, on the reader as they board the bus to utilize its services. However, the new option does not apply to paper tickets.
Children above the age of five are also required to tap in to utilize the services. Metrolink QR Code and Karwa Smartcards, which were initially carried out, are still valid, the metro officials added.
