Public Transport in Qatar

Urban and Intercity

Public Transport in Qatar

With the soaring temperatures in Qatar at the height of summer, it is not advisable to walk around. If you are unable to drive, public transport is a necessity and fortunately, with Qatar's continued growth the public transport networks are steadily improving.

Mowasalat Karwa

Mowasalat Karwa run the current public transportation systems in Qatar and they are responsible for the growth of the network. They are in the process of building an extensive railway network with will include countrywide railways and an extensive underground metro for the capital Doha, although this is still a few years away from completion. There is an impressive bus network that covers the whole of Doha and connects to the rest of the country. The group removed the original privately-owned orange taxis in the city and replaced them with their own, new turquoise taxi sedans.  

Buses and Faresaver card

There is a huge bus network that runs throughout the capital city Doha and connecting to all other cities of Qatar. With the amount of traffic and cost of maintaining and running a car this is a thrifty alternative to driving yourself. Mowasalat Karwa replaced traditional fairs with a prepaid card called the Faresaver card. A card costs 30 QR (7.6€), with 20 QR becoming credit while the extra 10 QR becomes available once 300QR has been added to the card. Fares within Doha cost between 3 - 4 QR (0.75 - 1€) and journeys to different cities vary between 4 - 9QR (1 - 2.25€) which makes it a very cheap way to travel.

A list of routes can be found here 

Taxi and Taxi Limousine

Mowasalat oversee the running of a fleet of taxis and taxi limousines which keeps the service running constant and fairly. The cars consist of modern air-conditioned vehicles which is a essential in the Qatar climate. The taxis are metered and all have an initial charge of 4QR (1€) with 1.20QR (0.30€) per kilometer during the day and 1.80QR (0.45€) per kilometer at night or on long distance journeys. However there is a reputation that currently there are not enough taxis on the roads meaning at busy times it can be difficult to secure a taxi, with long waits for booked taxis and difficulty in hailing them from the street. The easiest method is to queue at a taxi rank in a popular area for example malls and hotels. The base rates for a limousine are 20QR(4.99€) initial fee and then 2QR (0.50€) per kilometer which, if you can afford it, gives you the freedom of driving without having to deal with the stress of driving in Qatar.

Flights

There is only one active airport for the public in Qatar the Doha international airport, this means that domestic flights are not possible within Qatar, however with its relatively small size, with a coastline of only 563 kilometers, it is just as easy to travel by bus or by car, and you may even save some time!

Further reading

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