Casablanca Receives 257 Second-Hand Buses to Boost Public Transport

The buses had been blocked, pending the completion of administrative procedures. The National Investment Commission has given its approval to receive the 257 vehicles, blocked at the port of Casablanca. This first batch is part of an order for 400 used vehicles that will serve the city, pending the acquisition of new buses. According to the mayor of Casablanca, Abdelaziz El Omari, the unblocking of the situation depended on the implementation of the investment agreement that the Alsa company should sign with the delegating authority, namely the Ministry of the Interior.

These used buses, ordered from the Daimler dealer, should be put into service in Casablanca from the beginning of March for the next fifteen years. According to a press release from the German manufacturer, the Spanish subsidiary of the British group, National Express, will not receive this order until the end of 2020. "This major order includes 420 Mercedes-Benz Conecto solo buses and 80 Mercedes-Benz Conecto G articulated buses," according to Daimler, who said that the 150 vehicles are being purchased for the Al Baida Intercommunal Cooperation Establishment (ECI), insisting that these vehicles will be produced in Daimler Buses’ Turkish plant and will be equipped to Euro VI emission standards.

This press release from Daimler has only fueled prejudices about the acquisition of the Casablanca buses, after the first transaction of 350 buses was canceled.