Two continents, forty-five minutes apart.

 

Just forty-five minutes is all it takes to get from Europe to Africa on the high-speed catamaran that plies the waters between Tarifa, Spain and Tangier, Morocco.

 

Arriving into Tangier in October 2019, it could be described as the start of a National Express odyssey as the city’s bus network has been ALSA operated since November 2013. The majority of city services throughout Morocco are now under ALSA control, the Spanish subsidiary of NE Group. Walking around Tangier, it is apparent that it is an affluent city but with some rough edges that are often associated with major ports. The buses certainly reflected the latter, not being helped by the rather dismal blue livery. The majority of the fleet is made up of aging Scania’s with a mixture of locally assembled bodies operating 44 routes and utilizing 192 buses.

 

                                                 Scania, operator ALSA, location Tangier

Leaving Tangier, it is time to board Africa’s first high-speed train, built using Spanish trains identical to those used in Europe. The line currently only runs to Casablanca, although most of the infrastructure is in place for the entire route to Marrakesh, the express due to arrive fifty years after Crosby, Stills and Nash sang about it.

 

Casablanca is an industrial city set on the Atlantic coast, not quite the dream setting of Ingrid Bergman but perhaps more suited to Sam. The population of 3.4m. is catered for by Casa Bus operating 66 urban and suburban routes, the city is also served by two tram routes. In 2019 ALSA won a fifteen-year contract to operate local services in Casablanca, initially operating 400 buses, which is due to expand to 700 during 2020. ALSA has ordered 500 Euro VI buses from Daimler (420 Conecto and 80 Conecto G) plus 200 Irizar i3le’s built on Scania 320UB4x2 chassis, to update the fleet. 150 of the vehicles have been purchased on behalf of L’ECI AI Baida, the local transport authority.   

 

                                                  Tata Hispano bodied bus in Casablanca

Departing Casablanca, heading north by road along the coastal plan past the Irizar factory, brings us to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, which is a cosmopolitan city with a population of 0.5m. Until quite recently, it was renowned for a shambolic public transport network operated by Stareo, a company that has been in financial difficulties for a number of years. ALSA won the tendering process and now operates in excess of 400 buses on 21 bus routes in the city. A modern two route tram system also crosses the city on segregated roadway.

          Operator ALSA, chassis Scania K250, body Higer, registration 482570WW, location Rabat. 

Heading inland via the walled city of Meknes to Tommy Cooper country, the city of Fez - the first city visited that does not have ALSA as the public transport provider. Fez, once a major city on the Trans-Saharan trade route, today sits at the crossroads to/from all the major cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.2m. With two medinas and a modern city, there is a lot of ground to cover. The modern part of the city is covered by an extensive bus network utilising buses in various states of repair, whilst the oldest medina is served by minibuses terminating at the old wall gate entrance.  Regrettably, finding information on the bus network is impossible.

 

                                                    Fez, Tata Hispano, registration 88544.

Finally, the journey south to Marrakesh. Marrakech is the fourth largest city in Morocco, after Casablanca, Fez and Tangier, with an urban area of 88.80 sq miles and a population of 953,305. Since 1999 ALSA has managed the transport network in the city, and is now operating 42 city routes, three suburban services and the one line BRT route utilizing 257 vehicles. The majority of buses are Scania which are built as knock-down kits at Scania's factory in Katrineholm. With so many tourists visiting the city, the bus network is probably the most accessible in Morocco, with several termini, clearly defined bus stops and readily available publicity. (Marrakesh was covered in detail in a previous article)

 

                                              ALSA, Marrakesh, Solaris, Urbino 18 hybrid.

Considering ALSA forms part of National Express, an operator with a wealth of experience in operating local and express services with easily accessible travel planning information, it is a pity none of this expertise filters down to Morocco. The ALSA website is abysmal, with emphasis on corporate values and no recognition for the demands of the travelling public, such as route planning and timetables. Perhaps if we inhaled some of the hippy smoke, all would be much clearer.

                                          Above: Tram in Casablanca. Below: Tram in Rabat.

Bus and Coach World

Marrakech 2019

Marrakech was founded in 1062 by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the Moroccan Almoravid empire, and became the capital of that empire. Later the capital was moved to Fez and subsequently in 1911 to Rabat. Today, Marrakech is the fourth largest city in Morocco, after Casablanca, Fez and Tangier, with an urban area of 88.80 sq miles and a population of 953,305 and is capital of the mid south-western region of the country. It is the region’s commercial centre and transportation hub for the minerals that are extracted from the Atlas mountains. The city’s main economy is based on tourism as well as agricultural products and is also the headquarters of bus operator ALSA Morocco.

The majority of buses are Scania which are built as knock-down kits at Scania's factory in Katrineholm, for assembly and bodybuilding in Morocco. In 1999 Scania received its first major order from the city for the supply of L94IB city and inter-city chassis. Scania Maroc has a major service facility in Agadir.

Since 1999 ALSA, a subsidiary of the British based National Express Group, has managed the transport network in the city, and is now operating 42 city routes, three suburban services and the one line BRT route utilizing 257 vehicles. The main focus for the city network is around Bab Doukala, a one-way system featuring a park situated in the middle of a roundabout just outside the old Medina wall. Twenty-five services terminate or pass through this area, and it includes the northern terminus for the BRT. The Gare Routiere coach interchange is also located here. Additionally, ALSA is responsible for the city sightseeing franchise which it won in 2006 and when the contract was subsequently renewed in 2017, fully electric double-deckers were introduced. 



The city has two departure points for long distance express services. Independents depart from Gare Routiere Voyageurs  on Rue Bab Doukkala, located in the northwest of the city. The coach station consist of two areas, one is a traditional line of herringbone bays open to the elements and the second is a number of unusual undercover bays of dubious architectural design. The departure point for CTM and ALSA express services is from Rue Abou Bakr Seddiq, just south of the central railway station. Both coach stations and the railway station are served by the BRT line.

The BRT line is the first in Africa and commenced on 28 September 2017. ALSA operates services between 06.00 and 23.00 every 6 minutes at peak times and every 12 minutes off-peak. To use the service Moroccans pay 100 dirham (£7.90) per day and 150 dirham for two days, while foreigners have to pay 150 dirham per day and 200 dirham for two days.  A fleet of fifteen Dongfeng Yangtse Veryon G92 trolleybuses were delivered of which twelve are required to maintain the service: these buses cost 4 million dirham each (£316,000.00) and were financed by the Ministry of the Interior. The 12m long, partly low-floor, vehicles are equipped with batteries for off-wire operation (although no wire infrastructure is visible between Gueliz and the central station). The fleet is due to expand by the end of 2019, when ridership is forecasted to be 45,000 passengers a day.  Dongfeng Yangtse is a bus manufacturing company based in the central China city of Wuhan in Hubei province. Formerly known as the Wuhan Public Bus Factory, the company traces its roots back to 1929. They will supply 20 18m long trolleybuses in the near future. 

ALSA 9217, a Solaris Urbino 18 Hybrid on Avenue Mohammed V operating route 16 from the central Djemaa El Fna terminus to  Azzouzia - a suburb in the north west of the city.

Dongfeng Yangtse Veyron G92 trolleybus number 08 on the segregated roadway is approaching the Grand Poste intersection on Avenue Hassan 2 heading towards the Gueliz (Bab Doukala) terminus.

Scania with Tata Hispano Habit body passing through the Bab Er Robb arch on route 35 (Sidi Mimoun - Tahnaout).

ALSA 9293 a Scania about to depart on service 38 from the Bab Doukkala terminus to Bengeurir located in the north of the city.

On Avenue Mohammed V  a locally built Irizar body on Scania chassis operating route 1 Bab Doukkala to Arset El Bilk.

 

ALSA 9245 travelling along Rur Oqba Ben Nafaa on route 24 Mimoun to Taheslouht.

Travelling along the public road section of Avenue Hassan 2 parallel to the BRT is  a high floor Scania on suburban service 251 from Sidi Mimoum to Ghmat.

Gare Routiere Voyageurs outside departure bays with a line of independent express operators touting for trade. All the coaches carry locally built Irizar bodies.

The architecturally suspect design for the undercover departure bays at Gare Routiere Voyageurs.

Bus and Coach World