Draft:Karwa

• Comment: All based on a blog source, clearly unreliable one. -Lemonaka 01:07, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

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Mowasalat Karwa

File:Karwa-logo-orig.webp
File:Mowasalat-karwa-head-office-.webp Mowasalat (Karwa) Head office in Doha, Qatar
Native name	كروه
Romanized name	Karwa
Company type	Private
Industry	Public Transport
Founded	2002; 22 years ago
Headquarters	Doha, Qatar
Number of locations	Bus Karwa Bus stop for Bus 56, To Doha Karwa Bus stop Najma Street Karwa Bus stop 21/22 - Al Muntazah Karwa Bus stop, Salwa road, Industrial Area station (Ar Rayyan)
Area served	Can be found throughout Qatar.
Products	Mobile App
Services	Ridesharing Bus Public Transport
Number of employees	10,000
Parent	Mowasalat Qatar
Website	www.mowasalat.com karwa.qa

Karwa (also known as Karwa Taxi locally or Mowasalat) is a private Qatari public transportation company that provides Taxi, Limousine, Airport Transport and Bus services. It is headquartered in Doha, Qatar and is owned by Mowasalat (a government owned-public transportation service). It is one of the seven official taxi services recognised by the Qatari Government alongside others such as, Uber, Ryde, BadrGo, Zoom Ride, Aber and QDrive.Mowasalat was launched in 2002. Karwa vehicles can be identified by their turquoise color. Karwa, manages over 3,000 taxi sedans, including airport taxis featuring 2007 Ford Freestar models with larger cabins. The company also operates more than 120 public buses, school buses, and private-hire coaches. In 2009, Mowasalat organized a parade of 300 buses, which set a world record for the largest gathering of buses.

Karwa taxis lined up in Doha, Qatar

Karwa Taxi

The most commonly used vehicles for Karwa taxis are Toyota Camry, Toyota Previa and Volkswagen Passat.

Luxury Vehicles

Mowasalat operates a fleet of luxury vehicles, often referred to locally as limousines, that are available for various transportation services. These services include airport transfers, corporate travel, and private bookings. The vehicles in this fleet include models such as the Audi A4, A6, and A8. Vans and SUVs are also used. There are over 100 standard limousines and 200 Jaguar XJ VIP units that are placed typically at the Hamad International Airport, and major Hotels in Qatar.

Tesla

A Tesla model x, not exactly the Karwa Branded Taxi, though similar to the one being used

Karwa has recently added Teslas to its Luxury Vehicles Fleet. Namely the Model S and Model 3.

Buses

A Yutong karwa bus being tested in Zhengzhou, China

Karwa also has Bus-Transport, with over 53 bus routes and 1,776 stops. (See routes here)

Karwa's buses are from brands like Yutong, which after an agreement with Mowasalat, supplied Qatar with 1,002 Yutong buses, in 2020, including 741 E- buses. These buses were initially meant to operate for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but these buses still operate to this day.

The buses operate under a minimal fare. Making public transport an easy way to navigate around the country for a low price. Karwa also operates more than 120 Public buses, School buses, and private hire coaches. Qatar has 2 free bus services, known as MetroLink, and MetroExpress. Operated by Qatar Rail, the MetroLink Service is used to connect passengers to and from Doha Metro and Lusail Tram Stations. MetroExpress is free for Doha Metro and Lusail Tram passengers, but it must be used for conjunction with metro or tram rides.

Guinness world records

Shahaniya-Dukhan Highway, where the parade took place

Largest Parade of buses

In 2009, the Mowasalat reached a world record in the Guinness book for the largest parade of buses. The largest parade of Karwa buses consisted of 325 buses and was organized by Mowasalat - Transport Company in Doha, Qatar, on 21 August 2009.

A 4.8 km-long convoy of 325 Karwa buses travelled a stretch of 5 km on the Shahaniya-Dukhan highway, which is about 56 km from Doha.

Largest Electric bus depot

The Guinness world record for the Largest electric bus depot is held by the Ministry of Transport and Public works authority, the bus depot has the capacity of 478 buses, and was achieved by The Ministry of Transport and The Public Works Authority – Ashghal (both Qatar), in Doha, Qatar, on 16 October 2022.

Registered Taxi Companies in Qatar

7 Registered Companies

As of December 2024, there are only 7 registered taxi companies legally operating under a license, these companies are recognised by the MOT (Ministry of Transport). The companies are, Uber, Ryde, Karwa Technologies, QDrive, Badr, Zoom Ride, and ride.

Any other taxi service other than the recognised few are deemed illegal in the state.

"The Ministry of Transport (MoT) warned that legal actions will be taken against violating companies that operate passenger transportation services via electronic application"

Competition & Criticism

Orange Taxis

Orange Taxi, Showcased at the National Museum of Qatar

This was the old license plate used for taxis

Before Mowasalat was launched, Orange taxis were the cars used for public transport, these cars were mainly active in the 1990's. These taxis were privately-owned and were once a common sight in the streets of Qatar. When the Qatari Government launched Mowasalat in 2002, The phasing out of the orange taxis began, this phase lasted 4 years until in 2006, when these taxis were completely off the roads of Qatar. The government, in response, has claimed that the old taxis were removed because they posed a threat to the new Mowasalat taxis.. Taxis are now not as accessible (On the streets) as they used to be. The orange taxi, alongside 12 other vintage cars were showcased at an exhibition in the National Museum of Qatar, Doha until 29 February.

The old taxi cars are Toyota Cressina DX.

Recent Developments

Conversion to Electric/Hybrid

Mowasalat has made progress in making its fleet eco-friendly, in May 2022, Mowasalat announced the replacement of all City taxis with hybrid-electric eco friendly counterparts. The vehicles run on a self-charging hybrid electric system that runs on a Low emission petrol and electric motor. Public buses, government school buses and Doha Metro feeder buses will slowly but gradually, shift to electric, the company has set a goal to hit the roll-out percentage required to reduce harmful carbon emissions from buses by 2030.

“We have crossed the target of converting 25 percent of the public transportation into eco-friendly mode. The public and school transportation will be completely eco-friendly by 2030,” Minister of Transport H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti disscussed.

Electric buses already make up roughly 70% of the public transport fleet, said Hamad Ali Al Marri, Director of the Land Transport Licensing Department, speaking at a ceremony organized by the Business Class Advertising Group in Doha

World Cup

Shuttle buses in Doha, 2022 FIFA world cup.

Yutong supplied Qatar with 1,002 Yutong buses, in 2020, including 741 E- buses. These buses were ordered for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

4,000 buses have been operated during the tournament, of which about 3,000 were dedicated to transporting fans, including more than 700 fully electric buses that operate with zero carbon emissions.