Moroccan Taxi Drivers Protest Proposed Penalties for Ride Refusals

The Federation denounces "out of context" remarks and recalls that the sector is governed by circulars and decisions of the Ministry of the Interior, and not by laws. Redouane Abouihi, Secretary General of the Federation, believes that it would be more useful to finally legislate on the sector, a 30-year-old demand, rather than attacking the drivers.

He recalls that the refusal of service is already sanctioned, which can go as far as the withdrawal of the license, but that this is framed by strict conditions. He also points to the current difficulties of the profession: competition from mobility applications, difficult access to health coverage, low incomes, rising costs...

Abouihi added that the taxi activity is characterized by a particular specificity and is governed by a set of legislations, in particular the law on obligations and contracts. Subjecting the rental contracts of authorizations to this law and activating the rule "the contract is the law of the parties" is in contradiction with the practical decisions indicating the continuity of the operation provided that there is another agreement on the rent until the end of the contract.

The National Federation of Taxi License Operators, in a denunciatory statement, has called on the Ministers of the Interior, Transport and Justice, as well as the government in general, to work on the enactment of a law regulating the taxi transport sector that responds to urgent professional demands, recalling that the offenses of refusal by certain taxi drivers to transport citizens to their destinations are currently punished by the competent administrative and security authorities; which refutes any need to transform this issue into an offense or crime.