The Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil provided explanations concerning the regulatory aspect of clandestine transport in rural areas. According to the supervising minister, the law authorizes this practice in accordance with the regulations in force.
Abdeljalil indicated in this sense that his department has undertaken an in-depth study in 58 localities in order to understand the reasons why travelers prefer to use this mode of transport despite the availability of other means of public transport. The results of this study will serve as the basis for the issuance of mixed transport licenses, he said.
During a parliamentary session on the regularization of clandestine transport, the Minister expressed his opinion by declaring that mixed transport does not represent the optimal solution to counter this illegal practice. According to him, it is necessary to adopt a regional approach by transferring competences related to clandestine transport to the regional councils in order to find an effective and adapted solution.
Regarding the unjustified increases in the prices of transport tickets between cities, the government official explained that the period of Eid Al-Adha brings high crowds, requiring the establishment of additional means of transport to meet the demand. significant demand. The ministry, he said, has therefore taken a proactive initiative by sending patrols to regional councils to orient them on the adoption of reasonable tariffs in accordance with the law.
Public transport fares are capped and not fixed, meaning they are implicitly subject to the logic of supply and demand, Abdeljalil said.
Similarly, he pointed out, during the Eid period, transport companies are allowed to increase fares by 20% in order to cover transport costs and encourage the provision of appropriate services, in both in terms of quantity and quality. In this regard, he insisted that the control of ticket prices should be more rigorous during the next celebration of Eid Al-Adha through the establishment of special committees.
The debate on support for transport professionals was also addressed during this session. In response to the question on the impact of this support on the prices of consumer products, the Minister stated that the road freight transport sector has been liberalized since 2003, which subjects product prices to free competition based on the principles of supply and demand.
In this context, the government official pointed out that the competition within the sector is very strong and that the government has decided to support transport professionals due to the exponential increase in the prices of oil and food products. According to him, without this support, the sector would have experienced dysfunctions in the supply chain, but this was avoided thanks to the continuity of the supply chain during the period of price crisis.