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New public buses are coming to Rabat in July, and many of these may be driven by women.
This does not mean that women-only buses are coming to Rabat, as was rumored by a number of news sources today.
Public transport company Alsa-City Bus will launch operations in July 2019 in the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region. Three hundred and fifty new buses will hit the roads, replacing the existing fleet run by Stareo, a company who has been in financial difficulty for some time.
Moroccan recruitment company Anapec is advertising for 80 female bus driver positions.
“Alsa-City Bus approached us with their recruitment needs, and I personally suggested they recruit women for the role,” Anapec’s director Souad Bouhanezi told Morocco World News.
“We have put out the offers and are now collecting applications,” she added. Anapec has also set up a training program, so that women who are interested in the role but don’t fully meet the criteria can obtain the required qualifications, Bouhazeni explained.
This way, she adds, Moroccan women are able to access jobs that until now have been mainly carried out by men. “[Alsa-City Bus] is a commendable organization,” she concludes.
Read also: Much Needed New Buses Coming to the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra Region in July
Moroccan recruitment company Sforhet is also recruiting 100 female bus drivers for the Rabat-Salé-Temara region. When contacted by Morocco World News, Sforhet was not able to disclose the employer.
The recruitment of female bus drivers has prompted rumours about whether Rabat wants to introduce women-only buses.
The “pink bus” initiative was first mentioned in 2017 by the mayor of Rabat Mohamed Sadiki, to curb sexual harassment of women on public transport. But the initiative did not gain momentum.
According to Abdelilah Mahdani, recruitment advisor at Anapec, the recruitment of female bus drivers has nothing to do with “women-only buses”.
“It’s not for pink buses. It’s for Alsa-City Bus,” he said.
Lahcen Elomrani, adjunct mayor of Rabat confirmed this morning that the City of Rabat will not have a “women-only” bus.
“The city of Rabat does not intend to introduce women-only buses,” Elomrani told Moroccan newspaper Media24.
When contacted by Morocco World News, the City of Rabat was not available for further comment.
