Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Qatar gives new electric buses demo run before World Cup

Qatar World Cup public transport Supplied
Qatar's public transport operator mirrors World Cup traffic in a two-day demo run
  • Mowasalat (Karwa) adds 90 electric buses to its Doha fleet
  • Demo run tests over 2,300 tournament service buses across 80 routes 

Qatar’s public transport provider Mowasalat (Karwa) added 90 new electric buses to its fleet this month.

There are also plans to make all Karwa taxis around Doha fully electric as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions to meet Qatar’s Vision 2030 goals. 

Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Qatar Rail, Karwa’s vehicles – 60 minibuses and 30 medium-sized buses that are zero-emission and near-zero noise – will make Metro stations more accessible in time for the FIFA World Cup 2022, held from November 21 to December 18.

And in a mammoth operation carried out in late September, Mowasalat (Karwa) executed a demo run to test over 2,300 tournament service buses across 80 routes, mirroring the days with the highest ridership during Qatar 2022. 

Ahmad Hassan Al-Obaidly, COO of Mowasalat (Karwa), said he hoped the new environmentally-friendly fleet will persuade more Qataris as well as visitors to use public transport.  

“I encourage the people of Qatar to avail of the country’s modern public transport system and make it your preferred mode of transport,” he said.

Qatar electric buses
Qatar’s new electric bus will be used by visitors during the World Cup

Abdulla Saif al-Sulaiti, chief of service delivery for Qatar Rail, said the metrolink buses played a key role in encouraging the use of the Doha Metro – launched in 2019 – as an alternative to private transport.

“I look forward to the successful implementation of e-buses to the metrolink fleet and further expansion of the network,” he said.

Qatar’s demo run last month in advance of Qatar 2022 saw the Karwa transport workforce, specially trained for the tournament bus services, hit the road, connecting 25 major depots and operation hubs for Qatar 2022, among them Souq Waqif, the Fan Zones, West Bay, Umm Besher, Barwa Madinatna, and Barahat Al-Janoub. 

The objective of this test drive was to stress test the road network with a bus volume comparable to the one anticipated for the World Cup.

The exercise also tested the efficacy of the last-mile support network as well as the various junctures for pedestrian crossing. 

The tests carried out on both days included services to and from the major World Cup stadiums, transportation on the arterial road network within Doha and its environs, as well as airport connectivity services.

Testing the connectivity with other more distant depots, including the ones in Al Khor, Mesaimeer and Wadi Abu Saleel, was also an integral part of the whole exercise.

Fahad Al Qahtani, CEO of Mowasalat (Karwa), said: “The successful completion of this colossal exercise to test the transportation readiness of Qatar during Qatar 2022 is a further testament to our country’s readiness in hosting the global event.” 

Latest articles

Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja. Her film 'Three' is currently being shown in UAE theatres in Mandarin using Camb.ai's AI translation programme

Dubai startup helps AI-voice cloning take centre stage

A YouTube video released in January of Novak Djokovic shows the tennis star speaking fluent Spanish at a post-match press conference.  While the Serbian champion is renowned for speaking several languages, in this case his voice was created by an artificial intelligence tool developed by a Dubai-based startup, Camb.ai. The original Djokovic footage was taken […]

Alec IPO SeaWorld Abu Dhabi

Alec IPO could start listings rush in construction sector

A listing by Dubai’s Alec Engineering and Contracting could open the gates for more construction-related companies to go public as they take advantage of the country’s buoyant property market, according to a business expert. Alec, which is backed by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, is behind some of the […]

A Saudi woman works inside the first all-female call centre in the kingdom's security sector, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Saudi Arabia unemployment fell in Q4 2023

Unemployment among Saudi Arabian nationals fell to 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, from 8 percent during the same period in 2022, the government said this week, reflecting the growth of the non-oil sector despite an economic contraction.  Unemployment among Saudi males was 4.6 percent, which was up from 4.2 percent the year […]

Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan

Saudi FDI inflow up but still far short of target

The net inflow of foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia was just over SAR13 billion ($3.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2023, up 16 percent on the previous period, government data said this week.  The data, released by the General Authority for Statistics, puts the total net inflow for 2023 at SAR46 billion, which […]