Taxis in Fez

After several years of living in Fez, Helen Ranger has a well-used mantra that she mutters to herself when travelling in a petit taxi. In addition to the usual bismillah that begins every journey, this has proved remarkably useful.

Last week she found herself deposited at school after a hair-raising journey, knuckles white, breath fast and heart pounding. This particular driver had honked madly as lights went green, swerved and lane-hopped, and screeched all the way up the hill to the new city.

But there are some very good stories about taxis, too.

John and Louise Lubbe of Pretoria had a wonderful Moroccan holiday last year, and after a week in Fez during which their son Rean also joined them from London, sadly left (this time in a much more sedate grand taxi).

John says - 'When we left Fes last September (on the first day of Ramadan) Louise's cell phone fell out of her bag in the taxi that took us to Rabat. Afterwards we left a voice message with a friend's number as reference. We were very impressed (and a bit surprised) that the taxi driver actually phoned from Fes the next day (he found the cell phone when he cleaned out the interior of the taxi) and we arranged with him to return the phone to Rean (they met at Bab Boujloud). The man's name is Mohamed and his cell number is 0613236373 if you would ever like to refer visitors to a very nice, gentle, honest man (he speaks English fluently)! (He also took us to Meknes and Volubilis and is a very quiet and kind fellow).'

Erich Groat, medina resident, has another heart-warming story that this time relates to a petit taxi:

'Last October I took a petit taxi from the old medina to the Ville Nouvelle, getting off at a corner by the grand taxi stop (next to the unmentionable McDonald's). I was wearing a pair of trousers with badly designed pockets that tend quietly to eject their contents whenever one's knees end up higher than one's hips; such was my position in the front seat of the cab, as I'm a slightly tall person. I paid the driver -- a middle-aged fellow playing a ratty cassette of intriguing old Arabic pop songs as we drove -- with a ten dirham coin that was in the process of being ejected from my pocket. I said my goodbyes and closed the door, and found myself quite instinctively patting my pockets. Lo and behold, my wallet was missing... I knew that I'd had it when entering the cab, as I was checking it for small bills in case I didn't have any coins (paying with large bills can be quite an affair here).

Of course, that wallet, containing a not insignificant sum of large bills, was being motored away before my very eyes. Standard scenario: lots of cash (about 150 Euros and 500 dirhams), credit card, bank card, personal cards, phone numbers, a photo of my cat, etc. Rats!

There were other taxis nearby, so I rushed to one of them and asked if the driver if he knew that taxi. He didn't. Was there a central number I could call? Not that he knew of. He recommended, to my surprise (assuming my awkward French and broken Arabic were getting this right at all), that I stay at the corner where I'd been dropped off: if the taxi driver were honest, he said, he'd look for me there the next time he drove by, should he happen to. I was sceptical, but it was nearing the hour of the mid-day meal, when many drivers head home; perhaps I'd be lucky? For nearly an hour I stood on the corner, eagerly eying every taxi that came by, many of which stopped in disappointed hope of more business...

And, lo and behold again, my driver returned, pulled over, grinning madly, and waved my wallet at me through the passenger side window. After my innumerable thanks in several languages, he asked if I needed to go anywhere, and I said yes, back to the Medina, eager to continue thanking him over the warbly pop music. Though I had nothing but big bills to offer him for fare, I of course gave him one and insisted that he keep the change, but Moroccans will always be far better bargainers than I, and my offer was resolutely rejected. I went home a happy man, and changed my pants.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news