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Rabat – Oulad Ziane, Morocco’s largest bus station, which is located in Casablanca, reopened its doors this week on July 5 after being dormant for a year.
The bus station resumed its activity on Monday, welcoming industry professionals and customers. The bus station was closed for a year due to preventive measures regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
State media said that the station began accepting buses and passengers, all of whom were required to follow the necessary precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
All cleaning and security efforts will take place throughout the week, and only passengers with tickets will be allowed to use the premises.
The bus station will open its doors at 4:30 a.m. and close at 11:00 p.m., in line with the government-implemented curfew.
To make sure the COVID-19 prevention measures are well respected, the bus station is set to launch an awareness campaign to encourage travelers to comply with preventive measures to ensure their safety.
The reopening comes after a meeting between the Governor of El Fida Mers Sultan’s prefecture, a representative of the municipality of Casablanca, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Health, as well as police services and transport professionals.
Vice-President of the Council of the Municipality of Casablanca, Mohamed Bourrahim, head of mobility and transport, said that the reopening is a result of exceptional circumstances, “marked by the strong demand of citizens for travel, as Aid al Adha approaches, to head back to their loved ones in different regions across Morocco.
Morocco is expected to celebrate Eid al Adha, one of the sacred festivities in Islam by the end of July.
According to Bourrahim, the opening also represents a return to work for the transport professionals following the pandemic crisis, stressing that prevention measures should be followed.
Several professionals and citizens expressed their satisfaction about the reopening of the bus station.
Spread across four hectares of land, the station welcomes up to 20,000 passengers per day, with more than 800 buses passing through daily.
In addition to ticket offices and docks, Oulad Ziane has a police district, a municipal administration, commercial premises, a pharmacy, a gas station, eight sanitary blocks, and a board to collect products from the bus station, indicated the Moroccan state news MAP.
