Fez modernizes its urban transport
Fez launches its public transport revolution with 250 buses and a new management model. These were the words of the city’s mayor, Abdeslam El Bekkali, at the last extraordinary session of the municipal council.
Backed by elected representatives from the majority and the opposition, the mayor called for the creation of the local development company “Transports et mobilité à Fès S.A”, which will commit the city to an in-depth transformation of its urban transport system. With an initial capital of 5 million dirhams (USD 500,000), this entity named “Fès Mobilité SA” is dedicated to the management of urban and interurban mobility. It will carry out an ambitious investment program worth 566 million dirhams (USD 57 million) over the 2025-2035 period. The municipality of Fez will be the majority shareholder with an 89.99% stake, in partnership with the wilaya of the Fez-Meknes region and several neighboring municipalities.
This transformative project comes at a time when the urban transport sector in Fez was in an advanced state of disrepair. In addition to a chronic shortage of buses, the city’s users had to contend with frequent breakdowns, irregular service and, most seriously of all, recurrent and sometimes dramatic accidents. This situation profoundly undermined public confidence and led local authorities to recognize the urgent need to make a clean break with the old management model.
Faced with this crisis, the local council decided last February to place the delegated management of City Bus under supervision. A special commission was set up to ensure continuity of public service, while a revenue agency was created to finance urgent needs, with the active support of the Ministry of the Interior. As part of this renewal drive, the modernization plan calls for the acquisition of 250 new buses (300 million dirhams (USD 30 million), the introduction of a modern ticketing system (16 million dirhams (USD 1.6 million), the construction of a maintenance center (100 million dirhams (USD 10 million), and the development of two BRT (“Bus Rapid Transit ”) lines with dedicated equipment (150 million dirhams, USD 15 million).
In concrete terms, these investments will be supported by the Government via the Fund of Support for Transport Reforms (FART), as part of the New National Mobility Model.
Among the first concrete measures, some thirty buses will soon be put into service in Fez. These vehicles will feature a beige-white exterior, inspired by the city’s traditional colors, with a stylized door representing Fez, symbolizing the city’s openness to the world. This new design aims to restore the image of public transport, associating it with the unique cultural and architectural identity of the religious capital.
At the same time, recent urban development projects, overseen by the Société de Développement Régional Fès Région Aménagement, have provided the city with major arterial roads, facilitating the flow of traffic on the main thoroughfares. However, these efforts need to be accompanied by a collective awareness: local authorities are calling on motorists to respect the highway code and be more civic-minded at the wheel, an essential condition for ensuring the safety of all and enhancing the efficiency of the infrastructure.
Youness SAAD ALAMI
