Laftit threatens unlicensed smart app transportation service providers.

Agadir24

Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said that providing transportation services via smart applications without a license is considered an “illegal and unauthorized” practice, stressing the need to “obtain a prior license to practice mediation services between carriers and customers.”

In his response to a written question submitted by the Progress and Socialism Party group in the House of Representatives, Laftit stressed the need for all providers of passenger transport services directed to the public to obtain a prior license to practice this activity, as well as special licenses for each vehicle used for the same purpose, according to the applicable legal framework, especially the provisions of Royal Decree No. 1.63.260 regarding transportation by road vehicles.

Minister Laftit stressed the “necessity for drivers who practice transportation activities to have a professional driver’s card and a trust license issued by local authorities for taxi drivers,” noting that “the Ministry of Interior has worked to enhance coordination with government sectors and relevant institutions, as well as with the Presidency of the Public Prosecution Office, in order to take the necessary measures to contain these illegal practices.”

The document stated that “many of these practices have been recorded in a number of cities by some companies that, without requesting or obtaining any license, have organized and provided services for transporting people and mediating in the field of transport by adopting digital applications to connect customers with some non-professional drivers who use private cars.”

According to Laftit, “the competent regional and provincial authorities in a number of cities are working in coordination with the security services and judicial bodies to take the necessary measures to limit this illegal situation, and to limit the growth of the phenomenon of practicing the activities of transporting people in an unprofessional manner and outside the legal controls and conditions in force to organize transportation services and ensure the safety of passengers and the quality of the services provided, and to avoid any imbalance in the transportation system or harm to the interests of transportation professionals who are committed to the laws in force in this regard.”

The Minister stated that the Ministry of Interior “is working on issuing general decisions that determine the conditions and methods for practicing the activity of connecting the customer with the taxi driver using modern technological means and the licensing procedures for practicing this activity,” as “a number of specialized companies have been supported, which have developed digital services and platforms based on mobile phones to enable users to book taxis immediately or in advance, in order to obtain the necessary licenses and practice their activities in compliance with the laws and regulations in force in the field of transportation and the rules of fair competition and in conditions that guarantee the safety and rights of both users of these services and professionals in the transportation sector by taxi.”