Maryam Al-Taidi-Rabat
Abu Adam was walking with his little son on Mohamed V Street in the heart of Rabat, a spring day, before he was interested in a special bike. The Pentecostal man approached him with signs of childlike joy on his face no less than the joy that appeared in Adam's five-year-old eyes.
Abu Adam described Al Jazeera Net as an eclectic bike. He said that it provides a traditional session in a modern mold that allows its passengers to take a walk and make it easier to navigate. Little Adam, in his dialect of "Big Bikala Zouina Bazaf", says that the big bike is very beautiful.
Green Taxi
Adam's bike, only one of the 50-wheeled electric bikes, was furnished in the capital, Rabat, and launched in mid-January.
It is located along the bank of the valley of Abu Burqaq, the old city, tourist spots and historical monuments. It reads "Green Taxi" with all those wishing to travel, visiting tourist attractions and historical sites.
Ecological transport that increases Morocco 's radiation As a country aspiring to develop and operate alternative energies, I want to contribute to the tourism promotion of the capital of the lights.
| These bikes make it easy to travel around the city and offer a tourist tour to introduce historical landmarks (the island) |
Between welcome and criticism
The Green Taxi is an eco-project and a socio-economic project, launched amid the welcome of green transport supporters and criticisms of its cost (a total investment of 2.5 million dirhams (260,000 dollars)).
The project was funded by the National Initiative for Human Development, with the aim of creating jobs for young people and contributing to the environmental radiation of a city classified as a green city.
Hisham Zayati, a young man among the 50 beneficiaries of the right to work on bicycles, said that people welcomed the idea and expressed their admiration for it and interacted with it.
Hamza al-Jawhari, during a tour of the ancient city's orbit, told us some of the criticism they are subjected to, and the irony that some of them are subjected to.
Clearance and roaming
On a historic tour of the eco-bike, we noticed how the Green Taxi has found its place among the different types of transport in the capital.
Salah al-Din Awam, one of the green taxi drivers, explains that young people are dispersed according to places and are standing in small groups, including in front of the parliament, the Udaya Mosque, and the tomb of Mohammed V, waiting for customers who are still new and unfamiliar.
Saladin, Hamza, Anas and the rest of the 50-year-old youth have been heavily trained in the languages and heritage of the city and in reception and communication with customers, providing them with information on the city and history of Rabat.
Young people aspire to develop partnerships with hotels to facilitate the travel of foreign tourists within the city. In contrast, bicycles are similar to those of Moroccans living in Rabat or its visitors.
| The project was funded by the National Initiative for Human Development with the aim of creating new job opportunities for young people (Al Jazeera) |
Keep pace with development
"The green taxi aspires to keep up with the boom in Rabat, and aims to contribute to its brilliance and tourism," said Abdel Salam al-Rabhi, head of the Anwar Ecological and Tourism Transport Cooperative.
Fatima al-Kadari, head of the project's "starting point" association, said that the project is a source of income and allows city residents to use ecological transportation and create jobs for young people.
It adds that the Eco-Transport project answers Morocco's commitments in the context of environmental conservation.
A green fleet is expanding
In a press conference following the first meeting of the Strategy Committee on Sustainable Development, Prime Minister Saad Eddin Othmani said that starting in 2019, Morocco will start implementing a new strategy to manage sustainable public transport, which depends on minimizing the use of petroleum products in daily movements.
"We have set 10 percent annually to buy these green cars for the benefit of individuals in the departments and public transport," he said.
The government aims to increase the proportion of hybrid or electric cars purchased by the state by up to 30% in 2021, while reducing the proportion of fuel consumption in tons by almost minus 10% in 2020 and by minus 15% in 2021.