The new urban bus transport program (2025–2029) will cover 84 cities and urban areas across Morocco, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit announced on Monday during a session in the House of Representatives. In its initial phase, the national program will involve 37 delegating authorities, including 18 municipalities, 12 intercommunal cooperation establishments, and 7 groups of territorial communities, Laftit specified during the weekly oral question session. The total investment allocated to the program amounts to 11 billion dirhams. This budget will finance the acquisition of 3,746 buses, the implementation of ticketing systems, operational support, passenger information systems, and the construction of related infrastructure such as parking lots, bus stops, signage, and maintenance centers. The combined contributions from the Ministries of the Interior and Finance have been increased from 1 to 1.5 billion dirhams, raising the total annual budget from 2 to 3 billion dirhams. The program will be implemented gradually over three phases. The first phase, involving six delegating authorities and covering 23 cities and urban areas, has already begun. Calls for tenders for project management assistance have been launched, particularly in Marrakech, Tangier, Tetouan, Agadir, Benslimane, and Fez. Consulting firms have already been appointed for Marrakech, Tangier, Agadir, and Tetouan. In addition, calls for tenders have been issued for the acquisition of 1,317 buses by the relevant local development companies. So far, contracts have been awarded for 968 buses, while tenders for the remaining 349 buses will be relaunched due to a lack of acceptable or technically compliant offers. Regarding the second phase, Laftit stated that it will cover 24 cities and urban areas and involve 18 delegating authorities. This phase includes preparing calls for tenders for the acquisition of 827 buses and their management systems, as well as identifying future operators. The third phase will involve 13 delegating authorities and extend coverage to 37 additional cities and urban areas, following a schedule aligned with the expiration of existing public transport contracts.
