Moroccan Non-Owner Taxi Drivers Form New Association to Voice Concerns

The constitutive general assembly of this association was held at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Kenitra. It brings together "drivers working without owning taxis, holders of the professional card and the trust authorization, in parallel with the new developments, in particular the multiplication of circulars and memoranda specific to the organization of the sector," a statement said.

The note specifies that "the supervisory administration has shown a certain leniency, laxity and negligence in the application of previous prefectural decisions before the issuance of circulars 336, 444, 750, and more recently 455, which continue to be applied with the same logic of leniency, thus neglecting the aspect related to the rights of professional assistant drivers, whether in the framework of dependence on a legal entity or in that of autonomy as a transitional measure for the driver owner of a single taxi".

The parties concerned also denounced "the position of the supervisory administration, under the pressure of security imperatives on the one hand, and under the influence of representatives of operators holding multiple licenses, within the professional unions themselves, as well as certain opportunists allied with employers", calling on the competent authorities to "put in place a comprehensive framework law for the sector, through a fair Road Transport Code for non-owner professional drivers, guaranteeing their economic, social and professional rights".

"The direct granting of a license to the practicing driver remains the central element and the most appropriate and radical solution for the taxi sector in Morocco, particularly with the existence of other unauthorized forms of transport and the thriving illegal competition due to the acute shortage of available taxis. Therefore, it is imperative to grant licenses in order to improve the quality of passenger transport services, while integrating new technologies into the sector," the new association stressed.