Taxis in Morocco – and “In Drive”
When you are abroad, especially in places like Morocco, it can be daunting hailing cabs. There are different types of Cabs, denoted by their different colours, some can operate out of city limits, other can’t.
Petite Taxi
These are usually quite small, operate mainly in the bigger cities and towns, and each city/town has a different taxi colour. They are also not usually very clean and you’ll be hard pushed to find one without dents and panel damage everywhere! There are no meters, which means you need to agree a price before setting off (being a European the starting price will be a LOT higher then for locals). They usually only operate within a city or town limit, and can stop and pick up other passengers if they are heading in the same direction.
Grand Taxi
Similar to Petite, but bigger, usually 4-6 seats, and where you haggle a price in the same way as a Petite Taxi, but you are essentially buying a seat, which means the driver can pick up more fares along the way. Grand Taxi’s can drive outside the city/town limits. On price, it’s the same issue for Europeans, in that the start price will be much higher than for locals and you need to be tough and be prepared to walk away.
In Drive – The Hack
This is a little hack I found when in Anza, it is an App, that can be downloaded in the same way as UBER (which isn’t available over here). The GOOD thing about InDrive is that it will geotag your location, and tell any driver who happens to be on-line, that you are looking for a cab to take you to the destination you have entered.
The App starts at a price that “it” thinks is fair. If no drivers are taking you up, it’s either because they know (from your username) that you are a European and want YOU to increase the fare offer (which you can manually adjust) or that they are simply holding out. It’s kind of like haggling “on line” and eventually a driver will message you and accept the fare. You can then send a photo of your exact location and they will pick you up.
The problem with InDrive is that it’s not exactly legal over here, but it DOES work and you don’t feel like you are being ripped off. You usually agree with the driver a “story” to tell if they are stopped by the Police (like “Abdul” is a friend you made on a surfing trip yesterday). BUT, If you don’t feel comfortable with getting into an unlicensed cab, you can always use the knowledge you now know have (about the cost of the fare) to haggle with a licensed cab at a licensed taxi rank. I do that all the time. A little bit of insider “price” knowledge stops you from being completely ripped off.
It’s fun – have fun and enjoy the ride.