As part of the first training session for busway drivers, which will last two weeks, the first busways will run in mainland France from Monday March 13, pending preparation by the teams for final circulation, initially planned from from June 2023.
Over the past two years, Casablanca has seen several development projects, including the construction of lanes dedicated to busways, with a view to making life easier for Casablanca residents and lightening the traffic a little in the city, which is experiencing serious traffic jams.
Today, the competent services are working on the final details for the proper deployment of the Mercedes brand busways, 21 meters long, in Casablanca. From Monday, March 13, a first training session is planned for the benefit of drivers, to allow teams to test these buses at the level of Al Quds Boulevard in particular, in the area between the Al Moustakbal crossroads and the Taddart crossroads.
The Local Development Company (SDL) Casa Transport specifies in this regard that this training will be conducted by the future operator of Casabusway, RATP Dev Casablanca, and will take place for two weeks on two vehicles, noting that the training will continue until in June 2023 and will concern a total of 102 drivers.
“This step is essential to guarantee the proper functioning of the new mode of transport in its own lane and to ensure a secure and quality service for users. The dry run, meanwhile, is scheduled from the beginning of June 2023. During these two phases, the busway will run empty on the entire line, without passengers, in real traffic conditions.“, indicates the SDL.
Additionally, the SDL explains “ that currently, in addition to the training and tests in progress, the project is in the phase of setting up ticketing equipment and other equipment, operating and passenger information support systems and light signaling for traffic “.
In this sense, and while waiting for users to get used to it, the SDL recalls that priority is given to the busway at intersections and thus invites users, as well as motorists, to be extra vigilant around the exclusively dedicated platform. to these buses.
In detail, the two busway lines will accommodate a fleet of 40 buses which will travel over a distance of nearly 25 km and will be able to accommodate 168 passengers. The Casabusway BW1 line will connect the Salmia district to Lissasfa by serving the Al Laymoun district and the Al Qods, Mohammed VI, Moqdad Lahrizi and Al Joulane boulevards. It will have 20 passenger stations along the 12.5 km route and will offer 2 transfer points with the Casatramway lines T1, Lissasfa station and T3 under construction.
Regarding the Casabusway BW2 line, it extends over a length of approximately 12 km, comprising 22 passenger stations. It will connect the Errahma district to the Oulmès roundabout located on Ghandi boulevard through provincial road 3014 and the Moulay Touhami and Yacoub Al Mansour boulevards. This line will have a connection point with the T2 tram line, Place Financière station.
Thus, the two lines of Casabusway BW & BW2, serve a direct corridor with 300,000 inhabitants. They will be equipped with a storage and maintenance center located in the Errahma district at the end of the works, scheduled for the end of 2022. The investment is around 1.8 billion dirhams, indicates Casa Transport.