Buses in Marrakech: The fare increase provokes the anger of users

It’s a hard pill to swallow for the people of Marrakech. As the management of the bus network changes hands, the announcement of a one-dirham fare increase has triggered a general outcry. For users, this increase directly impacts the purchasing power of the most vulnerable and the middle class, without any tangible counterpart in the quality of the service.

The criticism mainly focuses on the state of the reception infrastructure. The protesters point to stops deemed "catastrophic", often lacking maintenance. A local community actor criticizes a "flagrant lack of consistency": "A world-class tourist city like Marrakech should have rehabilitated the stops and improved the infrastructure before thinking of further burdening the citizen with new increases."

The discontent has taken an official turn with the intervention of a local association. In a virulent press release, the organization expresses its "firm rejection" of the measure, denouncing the exclusion of civil society from the decision-making process and qualifying the approach as "illogical".

On the ground, the gap is glaring. While the modernization of the fleet is recorded, users continue to face the "suffering of waiting" in the sun or rain, due to inadequate equipment. For observers, the reform of the sector now requires a "global" and participatory vision, well beyond a simple tariff adjustment.