Moroccan Grand Taxis

The previous evening we learnt that our best option for onward travel toward Merzouga – our desired destination for the day – would be by a Grand Taxi du Maroc. Unlike the Petit Taxis – which are the small, brightly coloured Fiats and Peugeots that remain confined to the city limits – the Grand Taxis (usually in the form of a larger, older Mercedes Benz) roam further afield, leap frogging between the nearby towns and cities and, as such, bolster the Moroccan public transportation system to good effect.

The Moroccan Grand Taxis don’t have any specific schedule to speak of, but leave when full – and by full, I mean full. 2 people in the passenger seat and another 4 shoehorned in the back. The fare is then split equally 6 ways – or 2 ways if there happens to be a tourist on board. I joke, of course. Generally the prices are fixed and we have yet to be fleeced by a Grand Taxista for extra Dirhams, which is more than can be said for the local bus network if previous experience is anything to go by. Hey ho, thems the breaks, I guess. You can travel among fewer bodies if you wish, but just as long as you have extra cash to pay for the empty spaces. This, its worth remembering, is always an option for solo female travellers – instead of running the (albeit slight) risk of getting their knees tickled, they can simply bag the front seat and pay for the space next to them. Another top tip there.

Grand Taxis can generally be identified by their silver or white bodies and black roofs, and by the blacked out rear windshield, funky carpeted dashboards, dysfunctional windows, and wide and varied selection of missing door handles. A Full Grand Taxi, however, can usually be identified by the sea of melancholic, compressed faces, all unforgivingly wedged against the inside of the windows, or, alternatively, by a savvy female ubertramp.com subscriber lounging blissfully in the front seat – her knees remaining, at all times, joyously untickled.

Despite their relative discomfort, these battered workhorses do their job admirably, and truly are a tremendous way to travel. They get you closer to the locals (in more ways than one), they’re no more expensive than the bus, they’re certainly regular throughout the day, and they get you from A to B in a trice. And, if only for these reasons alone, I thoroughly recommend at least one trip in one of these splendid machines.