Kingdom
Urban Transport: 1,000 New Buses to Hit the Road Soon
This deployment is part of a program budgeted at 11 billion dirhams, for the introduction of nearly 3,800 buses in 84 cities and urban clusters.
Approximately 1,000 buses will be received by the end of October to early November as part of the first phase of implementing the new urban public bus transport program for the period 2025–2029.
This was announced to MAP by Younès El Kasmi, governor director of urban mobility and transport at the Directorate General of Territorial Communities of the Ministry of the Interior, specifying that these vehicles are part of the 1,487 buses planned under the first phase of this program.
This first phase is currently underway for the urban areas of Tangier, Tetouan, Fez, Rabat, Benslimane, Marrakech, and Agadir, in addition to nearby cities and urban clusters such as Fnideq, Assilah, Tamansourt, Benguerir, and Inzegane Ait-Melloul, which will allow their integrated territorial areas to benefit from this program, covering 29 cities and urban clusters, he added.
It also includes the acquisition of ticketing systems, passenger information and operations support systems (SAEIV), and the construction of a maintenance center. The operation of this fleet will be handled by professional operators under a new delegated management model focused on service quality, innovation, and performance, the official continued.
The second phase of this program involves 18 Delegating Authorities covering 24 cities and nearby urban clusters, including the cities of Dakhla, Guelmim, Oujda, Essaouira, Tinghir, Taounate, and Sidi Bennour, while ensuring that all different urban areas and their agglomerations fully benefit.
As for the third phase, it targets 12 Delegating Authorities covering 31 cities and urban clusters, including the cities of Casablanca, Meknes, Khouribga, Laayoune, Beni Mellal, Nador, El Aroui, El Jadida, and Azemmour, with an investment focused on acquiring 1,482 buses dedicated to strengthening public urban transport in these territorial areas, he indicated.
Nearly 11 Billion MAD for 3,800 Buses
This ambitious program, as explained by El Kasmi, lays the foundations for a new governance of mobility in service of citizens. It also aligns directly with the high royal directives contained in the message sent by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in December 2024 to the second National Conference on Advanced Regionalization held in Tangier.
In this message, the Sovereign affirmed that “developing an inclusive and sustainable transport system is now an essential requirement for achieving integrated regional development. It is also a prerequisite for reducing spatial and social disparities at the territorial level.”
In accordance with the content of this Royal message, the Ministry of the Interior, in close consultation with various partners, especially territorial communities, has developed this new program for the modernization of urban bus transport, now elevated among strategic priorities, specified Younès El Kasmi.
With a budget of nearly 11 billion dirhams, this program, which will benefit 37 Delegating Authorities (84 cities and urban clusters), covers in particular the acquisition of nearly 3,800 buses and intelligent passenger information and operations support systems, he explained.
