Taxi Driver in Morocco: A High-Risk Profession

After pointing out the lack of any requirement to insure taxi drivers, the Democratic Transport Union invited its members, in all its branches, to send official letters to all stakeholders in the taxi sector, calling for taxi drivers to be included in the insurance coverage in order to guarantee their rights in the event of a road accident. It also urged its local branches to encourage all professional drivers to demand that taxi operators include them in the vehicle’s insurance, just like clients, in order to guarantee their legal and social protection.

The lack of insurance for drivers constitutes a serious problem that must be resolved urgently in order to protect the rights of professional drivers, said the secretary-general of the Democratic Transport Union, specifying that drivers are exposed daily to road accidents causing deaths and serious injuries among their ranks, but find themselves victims of the absence of insurance coverage and are therefore not compensated, unlike passengers.

To read: Morocco: taxi drivers organize

Insurance for professional drivers inside the taxi is a fundamental right that must absolutely be asserted by all legal means, he added, calling on the owners to respect drivers’ dignity and protect their rights. The regional secretary-general of taxi drivers in the Souss-Massa region for the Democratic Transport Union confirms: “Within the framework of civil liability, the driver is not insured, which constitutes a serious problem faced by all drivers throughout the kingdom.”

According to him, this situation “must be addressed by the walis, governors and officials in charge of the taxi sector, by imposing it on contract operators.” The union official calls on the Ministry of Transport to pressure the owners to insure professional drivers in addition to passenger insurance.