This past week transport in Morocco has been at a stanstill. In some parts there hasn't been public transport for over a week. In a country where most people rely on public transport to get around, this has proven to be quite distressing. I have only a vague idea about why all the bus and taxi drivers went on strike. There are a series of transport regulations that they don't agree with and since these regulations were being discussed in parliament, they decided to go on strike. I (hamdullah) was in my town when all of this began and have remained there since. I didn't need to leave my town except for sunday to go to the weekly souk. Normally my sitemate and I walk the 6km to souk and then take a taxi back to our town. We're usually carrying veggies for the week so we find it easier to take public transport back rather than walking. This sunday, however, we had to walk back because of this strike. The walk wasn't bad and to be honest I could use the exercise but it was just odd to see so many other people walking alongside us.
There were many poeple who were travelling when the strike went into effect and thus found themselves out of their homes. This hasn't been the first time either. Last month I was trying to get home after Leid Lmoulud and had a lot of trouble due to a traffic strike. The buses were running but full to capacity (ie even the aisles were full) but the taxis were completely non-existent. I finally made it home after getting rides in some rather unconventional ways/vehicles. News reports say that the strike has ended in the meantime but the issue of the traffic regulations has yet to be resolved so there may still be public transport stoppages. Inshallah this gets resolved soon.
This is the taxi stand in Azrou. Usually it looks like this. Taxis, people, commotion, etc.
An unconventional form of transport. I didn't have to ride a donkey to get back to town but I just didn't have photos of other vehicles :)
