From Morocco to Viral: Bus Driver’s Social Media Journey Captivates Millions

Marwa gets up every day at 5 a.m. to drive her bus. She never dreamed of doing this job with so much passion. "I never would have imagined becoming a bus driver," the thirtysomething tells France 3. The young woman shares her daily life with nearly 600,000 subscribers on her social networks where she is known as "Marwastory". Marwa arrived in 2019 from Sefrou, near Fez in Morocco. Seeing women at the wheel in this country was a trigger for her. "I saw a lot of women driving here, it made me want to do it." That’s how during the lockdown, she decided to get a professional passenger transport license.

"Driving a big vehicle like this was a challenge I had set myself. But very quickly, it became a passion," says the bus driver who thrives in this profession. "I didn’t want an office job. It’s a useful job, there’s human contact, I like it." On social networks, especially Instagram and TikTok where she is very active, "Marwastory" recounts how her day as a bus driver starts and unfolds, from preparing the vehicle at dawn, disinfecting the buttons, checking the levels, to the trips, including breaks and everyday scenes. "We only see a bus stop, but we don’t see everything that’s behind it. I want to highlight the profession, show the reality on the ground."

The content creator also films her tourist trips, in Spain or Italy. One of her videos in Arabic, shot during a trip to Italy, recorded nearly 12 million views. Despite this very busy daily life, Marwa also takes care of her home. "In the morning I’m a driver, in the evening I take care of my home. It’s all a matter of organization," says the young woman, who also emphasizes an important aspect: respect for women and drivers. The thirtysomething mentions sexist remarks like: "How long have you had your license?" or "Another woman driving," not to mention refusals to pay, tensions in traffic jams. "But we women, we have patience. We’re not going to get angry at the customers, we try to handle it calmly," she sums up.

At the beginning of her social media presence, she also faced criticism. "Sometimes they would tell me: ’A woman’s place is in the kitchen,’ ’You’ve stolen our jobs’..." she confides. But Marwa is proud to inspire other women. "Today, I get DMs from women who have just gotten their licenses, who tell me I’ve given them the desire," says the driver, who doesn’t forget "to also thank my husband who supported and encouraged me." On her networks, the young woman shares varied content (work, sports, lifestyle, food) in Arabic, but also in French. "My colleagues didn’t understand anything, so for the last two months, I’ve also been speaking French in my videos," she specifies. And she concludes: "It’s not the views that interest me. I want to convey love, humanity."