Morocco Tightens Taxi License Rules, Sparking Driver Concerns

The General Directorate of National Security now requires taxi license operators in the first and second categories to present a recent certificate of life of the license holder, under penalty of having their authorization to operate revoked.

This measure, intended to combat fraud and manipulation, has been received with concern by industry professionals. Deputy Ismaïl Zitouni has questioned the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, about the difficulties caused by this new procedure.

According to the official, the geographical distance between license holders and places of operation makes obtaining the certificate of life complex and disrupts the activity of drivers. He also fears that this situation may be exploited by some license holders to exert financial blackmail on operators.

The deputy therefore calls on the Minister of the Interior to simplify these administrative procedures, arguing that the ministry’s services already have the necessary information on license holders.