Meeting in an extraordinary session on Monday, the Meknes City Council voted to unilaterally end the delegated management contract with the operator, citing what it described as the company’s failure to meet its contractual obligations and the continued deterioration of urban transport services.
This decision follows months of prolonged disruption, which had entered its fifth consecutive week following an employee strike that brought nearly the entire bus network to a standstill. The suspension forced commuters to rely largely on taxis during one of the hottest periods of the summer, increasing transport costs for workers, students and low-income households.
As part of Monday’s decisions, councillors also approved the creation of a Local Development Company (SDL) to assume responsibility for managing the city’s bus network. The council adopted the company’s statutes and legal framework, marking the first step toward a new operating model for urban transport.
Read also : A city left waiting: Inside Meknes’ fifth week without public buses
In previous statements, the municipality said it had exhausted all legal and contractual avenues before deciding to terminate the agreement.
The council recalled that in 2020 it had approved a seven-year extension of City Bus’s operating contract to allow the company to carry out an investment program that included renewing its fleet, modernizing the network and improving service quality.
According to the municipality, however, those commitments were never fulfilled despite repeated formal notices and legal proceedings.
The dispute ultimately culminated in the complete suspension of bus services, disrupting daily life across the city and leaving thousands of commuters without an affordable means of transportation.
The municipality has not yet announced when bus services will resume under the new management structure or how long the transition is expected to take.
