Morocco Cracks Down on Taxi Scams, Aims to Modernize Services Nationwide

Responding to a question from the Haraki parliamentary group in the House of Representatives on "the qualification of the taxi sector and the establishment of uniform standards throughout the kingdom", Abdelouafi Laftit confirmed that the provincial authorities, empowered by law to regulate the taxi sector, ensure that operational decisions include the specific conditions for the operation of taxis and the provision of their services, as well as the necessary conditions for the exercise of the profession in order to impose compliance with quality standards and professional conduct of taxi drivers. These decisions relating to the exercise of the taxi driving profession and the granting of the license define the required conditions and criteria for those aspiring to work in the sector and the conditions for service provision and management of the relationship with customers, he specified.

Refusal by the taxi driver to take the customer to his destination without valid reason, conditional service offering, non-display of rates or their increase, and non-compliant use of the meter, are practices contrary to the laws and regulations in force or those considered immoral and harmful to the profession. According to the minister, these practices are sanctioned. Between January 2023 and February 2024, some 317 licenses were thus revoked from taxi drivers who were not in order for a period ranging from one month to six months. Similarly, 15 licenses were temporarily revoked pending the relevant court decisions.

Laftit also assured that his department not only works to standardize the basic norms and procedures and extend them to all provinces and prefectures, through periodic ministerial circulars sent to the provincial authorities, by supervising the sector and supporting the work of the competent provincial services, but it also strives to support and accompany various initiatives aimed at modernizing taxi services and adapting them to the needs and aspirations of customers, in particular initiatives aimed at regulating the activity of connection via applications between taxis and users of this type of transport at the level of provinces and prefectures, or to create mechanisms for prior booking of taxi services.