At least five injured in Friday's Mowasalat bus accident
At least five people got injured after a Karwa bus rammed into waiting commuters at the Al Ghanim main bus station Friday evening, according to local newspapers in Qatar.
Gulf Times reported that six expatriates were injured in the bus crash, where most of them sustained "fractures in their legs."
According to The Peninsula, two of the injured are said to be African nationals while one is Indian. The two others are Bangladeshis working as drivers in the state-owned transport company.
The mishap, eyewitnesses said, happened at around 5 pm. According to them, a bus bound for Al Khor ploughed into a group of commuters in the waiting area close to a cafeteria.
The bus was approaching the stand when the driver lost control and rammed into the commuters.
Some of the injured were sitting on concrete barriers in front of the waiting area. The barriers were placed by the public transport company to protect waiting commuters in the wake of the last accident three months ago, which claimed four lives and injured two persons.
Even though the bus station was busy, only a few people were injured as the bus was moving slowly, eyewitnesses said. The barriers were moved by the force of the impact.
Soon after the mishap, Al Fazaa and Civil Defence personnel, as well as an ambulance, came to the scene of the accident to take the injured to a hospital.
This was the third accident in the bus terminus in two years. In August 11, 2013, 13 people were injured, some seriously, when a public bus rammed into waiting passengers.
A similar accident happened on December 12 last year, killing four people and injuring two.
Photo: Gulf Times
i read somewhere else that the driver got confused with the controls as he was driving one of the newer bus models and was unfamiliar with it. one driver told me the other driver from the incident last december used to be a school bus driver so he wasn't used to the buses used for public bus routes. they normally use school bus drivers on fridays to augment the work force because there are so many passengers on those days.
the thing is, the stations are too crowded on weekends and many passengers don't follow instructions to stand behind the barriers. they normally rush toward the buses when they arrive, especially those routes with destinations outside doha because the trips leave only once every hour, if they get on a bit later they will have to stand and if they miss the bus they need to wait for another hour. there is no queuing system in place (except for bus 76, but it only happens on weekday mornings) so it tends to be chaotic.
in other news, i tried the sms thingie posted on bus stops and found it pretty reliable. i now know what time i should leave the office so i can go to the bus stop across the street and not have to wait a lifetime for the bus to arrive
I suggest if Karwa puts up a big illuminated board at some convenient location at the bus stand which displays digitally the arrival times of the next buses, it may help keep people seated rather than stand near the barriers.
Or the driver was distracted by a good looking female passenger
There could be several other causes for such accidents to take place. When the last time this accident took place, word was circulating that the driver of the bus was drunk. Possibly, after this incident, Karwa may have set up a system by which drivers are checked for their state of mind before a bus is handed over to them. A step could be taken to check the residential facilities and if anyone is found drinking even during his off days, there should be no leniency shown. There could be a factor of fatigue also with drivers being overworked. Finally, while I am sure Karwa carries out proper maintenance of its fleet of buses, a possibility of mechanical failure cannot be ruled out. It is an unpredictable factor which leads to such painful incidents. It is true, the sitting facilities for passengers at the bus station are not adequate let alone the poor state of toilets where there is hardly any water available most of the time. Furthermore, such facilities is totally absent at the bus station for the weaker sex. All these need looking into as these incidents taking place at the bus station is a recent phenomenon. We never heard of such incidents taking place two years back. Improvements to the system can be made by adding more benches to allow for the passengers to sit rather than keep standing near the loading bay. Also, a large digital illuminated board located at some convenient point at the bus station which displays the arrival times of the next buses, will definitely go a long way in keeping passengers seated rather than wait alongside the barriers.
Firstly there should be 3 or More AC Bus stations in and around Doha . So people can avoid al ghanim bus station. Secondly Provide AC shelter and Chairs , good Toilets in Bus stations Thirdly Use small vans, Coaster instead of Big buses.
Again?!!! I think the barriers are useless because the bus station is too crowded, that's why people come out of the barriers, i know because everyday i travel thru the bus. I think soon enough it will be transfered to AL-NASSER Area (the bus station)
Driver should evaluate in all discipline prior to offer license especially heavy vehicles driver.