Motorbike courier safety is gradually emerging as one of the new challenges facing urban mobility in Morocco. Meeting this week with professionals in the two-wheeler sector, the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) called on delivery platforms to end mechanisms that encourage riders to speed to avoid having their orders canceled.
The problem is directly linked to how some apps operate. When an order is canceled because of a delay, the courier risks losing the payment for that delivery. Time then becomes a determining factor in income, sometimes turning urban traffic into a race against the clock. The agency believes companies must factor road safety requirements into their operations rather than shifting the consequences of unrealistic deadlines onto riders.
The concern comes as road deaths are rising sharply. Preliminary NARSA data show 160,347 injury crashes in 2025, up 12.7% from a year earlier. The number of fatalities rose 25.5% to 4,577, while the number of seriously injured people increased 10.8% to 10,333.
The most striking change concerns motorized two- and three-wheelers. Motorcyclists accounted for 2,060 deaths in 2025, or 45% of all road fatalities. That share has more than doubled over the past decade. Several regions across Morocco have recorded a continued rise in the share of motorcycles in road deaths, reflecting their rapid spread in urban transport and professional activities.
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The growth of home delivery services is one of the factors behind this shift. The widespread use of digital platforms has increased the number of riders traveling through urban centers every day. The pressure for speed, combined with heavy traffic and often precarious working conditions, creates an environment with a higher risk of crashes.
According to World Bank estimates, the economic and social cost of road crashes amounts to around 1.69% of Morocco’s GDP, or nearly 19.5 billion dirhams a year. The financial consequences are felt by healthcare systems, insurers, public finances and households affected by crashes.
An economic model that puts pressure on delivery times
The issue of delivery times cannot be separated from the platforms’ business model. Most couriers work as self-employed workers. They generally cover the cost of their vehicle, maintenance, insurance and fuel themselves, while their income depends directly on the number of deliveries they complete.
That pressure has been compounded by recent increases in operating costs. The High Commission for Planning (HCP) recorded a 9.8% increase in fuel prices between July and August 2026. Recent increases at the pump are mechanically reducing the profitability of each delivery and encouraging riders to complete more orders to maintain their income.
The labor market also plays a key role. The urban unemployment rate stood at 11.9% in the second quarter of 2026, according to HCP data cited by Bank Al-Maghrib. Home delivery therefore offers many young workers a quick entry into the job market, limiting their ability to negotiate individually the conditions imposed by platforms.
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No new regulatory requirement regarding delivery times has been announced at this stage. The approach being taken is mainly based on dialogue with industry players. A study day focused on road safety and the working conditions of delivery riders is expected to be held in the coming months.
This approach builds on initiatives already launched with some platforms. Agreements have included awareness campaigns, incentives for responsible behavior and the identification of motorcycles used for delivery activities.
A new step in two-wheeler registration
Alongside the delivery issue, NARSA is preparing to implement a reform of two-wheeler registration. A new system will apply to mopeds, light tricycles and light quadricycles starting January 1, 2027.
The goal is twofold: improve vehicle traceability and strengthen controls on risky practices. Industry professionals have nevertheless raised concerns about the limited capacity of registration centers, with each prefecture generally having only one center authorized to process these applications. Authorities are therefore planning regulatory measures to streamline procedures before the new system takes effect.
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Vehicle performance testing is also an important part of the reform. Authorities attribute part of the rise in crashes to illegal modifications that increase the maximum speed of mopeds. Strengthening vehicle identification is therefore also intended to help crack down on these practices.
The delivery and registration issues share the same goal: reducing the growing share of two-wheelers in road deaths. Morocco has set itself the target of cutting the number of road fatalities in half by 2030.
