Parade of 325 buses sets a world record

DOHA (The Peninsula Qatar): Merely five months after it successfully set two Guinness world records for the largest bowl of pasta and the longest line of sandwiches, Qatar claimed yet another feat setting the world record for the largest parade of buses yesterday.

With assistance from the Traffic Department and Internal Security Force, Mowasalat, the country's sole public transport provider, successfully staged the historic event winning the praise of numerous in attendance including representatives from Guinness World Records who flew all the way from the UK for the occasion.

"It has been a remarkable and well organized event," said Talal Omar, Adjudication Manager of Guinness World Records based in London. Guinness has nine adjudicators based in New York, London and China, Omar informed.

Carrying out a convoy of 325 Karwa buses, Qatar snatched the record previously set by Germany by more than double the number of buses included in the fleet. In January this year, Germany organized a similar event involving 119 public buses.

The long stretch of identical green buses, many of which have taken a brief hiatus as schools are closed for vacation, looked resplendent as they glistened in the early morning sun while they journeyed neatly in a row with equal distances along the Shahaniyah and Dukhan Roads.

Aside from the number of buses, Mowasalat had to meet other criteria to stamp the new record. These included uniform model of buses, distance traveled of at least 3.2 kilometers and a gap of 5 to 10 meters.

The enormous convoy not only met the criteria but even surpassed them having traveled 5 kilometers, according to Omar. Hundreds of onlookers from the media and government entities and Mowasalat including high officials from the transport company stayed for over two hours unmindful of the hot weather just to witness and take part in the record-breaking event.

"The honor that has been bestowed on us today is not just for Mowasalat but for Qatar in general and I would like to thank every one who helped in ensuring the success of the event," said Mowasalat Chairman Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti at the conclusion of the victorious event.

To guarantee a positive turnout of the event, Mowasalat held a dry-run on the Al Wakra-Mesaieed Road Friday last week.

Qatar presently holds a number of Guinness world records such as the longest pita bread and the most expensive mobile phone number.