A Traveler’s Tale: How to Survive the Many Modes of Transportation in Morocco: Part II

So I thought it was about time that I write part two of my adventures in traveling around Morocco. I left with the grand taxis which are each so fun and different and honestly there is even more to them than I said. Like certain areas of the country have certain color grand taxis… but anyways I could go on and on.

2. Souk Buses

These are one of the cheapest ways to ride in style. Souk buses are comparable to Greyhound, Peoria Charter Buses, and Megabus… but! the cheap version. Imagine a school bus, but with individual seats, an awesome paint job (chipped blue paint with logo), windows that don’t always open, and a number of objects tied down to the roof. They are cheaper than grand taxis and can end up getting incredibly packed. People sit in the aisle, hang in the door ways, and I can’t remember if I’ve seen it yet, but there could be the occasional person on top of a souk bus.

One interesting thing is that they act like grand taxis. They can go from larger town to even bigger town and can pass through a number of smaller villages or towns on the way. So they will stop anywhere along the destination picking up people and letting people off. Souk buses can feel like they take forever. A three hour drive ends up almost five with the amount of stops and water breaks.

That’s the worst a souk bus can be and honestly most times they aren’t so bad. Sometimes they’re an old nice bus or sometimes they’re not packed. Sometimes you get two seats to yourself next to the window. Sometimes you may be so lucky as to be on a souk bus with a working AC (that usually just blows air around, but better than nothing.)

There are also more expensive bus companies to use in Morocco like CTM, Supratours. They always leave on time, almost always AC, lots of leg room, but of course they are also a bit more expensive than souk buses. Although it’s worth shelling out an extra 20 diharms for the AC in the summer or if you’re going through the rough Marrakech to Ouarzazate pass when it’s hard for even the people with an iron stomach not to get a little queasy. But YAY souk buses, they are most often the way to go.

3. Transit

Are you wondering what the heck a transit is? Transit… is a big box like van and they get there name from the actual name of a model of van called Transit. So not all transits have to be “a Transit”, but any big boxy like van or shuttle looking thing is considered a transit. These vans don’t hold 8 people though, but usually around 15 or more? Depends on how creative the passengers are with the positioning of their selves and how close they want to get.

How is it possible to fit that many people in? Well they rip out the seats and replace them with bus seats kinda. Long bus benches I like to call them. So yeah at least three people fit on a bench, usually there are 3 benches. Two people in the front seat and all the people who get stuck standing along the door or sitting on the floor, that’s how you get all those people in a tiny van, but I can’t forget all the stuff that gets put on the roof, similar to a souk bus.

Transits are usually used in smaller villages going to a bigger village. This is especially true if a town doesn’t have a souk (market) in their town, then they usually have transits that make frequent trips to their souk town. It all depends on the size of the village and the distance they have to drive to reach the nearest big town. For example: My friend lives in Errichidia province and is up on a mountain. Her site is small enough that they don’t have a taxi stand and the terrain can be too difficult for taxis, so the only way to get in and out of her site is by transit. There are only two transits and they leave around 4-5am in the morning to drive 2.5 hours to the nearest big town. The transit drivers will usually have a set time that they leave and either your on the transit or you get stuck in that town. It can be quite tricky for some volunteers.

My town is big enough that there are no transits that go from my town to the next. Although some of the outlying villages do use transits to come into my site. I’ve got it relatively easy having a taxi stand in site.

4. Back of the truck or camio

This is huge near me. It almost seems that transits are used less and people ride in the back of trucks more often. These trucks almost always have a metal frame on the back that goes up high (used for trucks who transport livestock) and as many people as possible will back into the back all standing up and leaning on the frame. The frames are solid and seem safe, but it’s crazy seeing a truck full of people standing up going fast through the mountain roads. I see this a lot on souk day for people heading back to the outlying villages. This form of transportation is definitely prohibited by Peace Corps, so don’t worry. We leave this form of transportation solely for Moroccans.

5. Donkey, horse, foot…

These are all relatively self explanatory, but in the rural areas people do still ride their donkeys, horses, and walk a lot.

Of course there are more than these modes of transportation, but these are the most common we use or see often. Occasionally a person has their own person vehicle, bike, scooter, but I think the five I listed are some of the more exciting in Morocco. I mean who knows which taxi driver you’ll end up with, who you’ll get stuck next to on the souk bus, or what sort of mood your transit driver is in. Whether you’re flying through the mountains or passing a horse and cart by going into the oncoming traffic lane… it’s all part of the adventure and the rush of traveling in Morocco.

I must request that you don’t fret or worry about traveling here. I have yet to hear about a grand taxi accident or transit accident. These drivers have been doing this their whole lives and I trust them. Sometimes we drive down the middle of the road in both lanes, pass in no passing zones, and don’t get me started on petit taxis in the big cities (act just like what we think of as regular taxis, stay in the city and don’t go on long trips), but I mean in the states we have our fair share of crazies on the road. Anywho… I hope this is enlightening on the modes of transport in Morocco. Whichever is chosen, it’s usually an adventure.