Traffic chaos

School buses cause traffic snarls on school reopening day

Manama

 Commuters in the Kingdom yesterday had a tough time to reach their offices in time as many parts of Bahrain faced traffic congestion due to reopening of schools. 

 The traffic problem escalated in the morning as school buses began plying on the road. Early in the morning, traffic snarls set in immediately after the buses began picking the students across the Kingdom.

 Isa Town resident Janet, a government employee, said that it took more than usual time to reach her office in Manama. “Usually, it takes just 15 minutes to reach the office in the morning. But yesterday, I reached late due to heavy traffic on the road,” she said. 

 Janet added that the traffic problem would escalate further in the coming days as some of the schools yet to resume their academic activities. 

 The traffic congestion also affected the time schedule of public buses in the Kingdom. A driver of a public bus, plying between Riffa and Manama, said that he could not maintain timings due to heavy traffic on the road. 

 “In the morning, the roads were full of school buses, creating a long tailback in many parts of the Kingdom, he said. 

 The   Indian School Bus number 21 was almost 45 minutes late to reach Bilad Al Khadeem Avenue yesterday. The Director General of Traffic, Shaikh Nasser bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa on Monday requested motorists to leave home early after the reopening of schools to avoid reaching late for work due to traffic congestion. 

 The parents had to wait under scorching sun for a long time to pick their wards in the afternoon as the buses of some schools reached very late due to traffic congestion. A mother of a student told DT News that it had been a harrowing experience for her yesterday, as she had to wait for her kid in sweltering heat for more than half-an-hour.