Moroccan police have launched an investigation following a violent incident in Rabat involving a ride-sharing app, reportedly Indrive, and a university student.
The incident took place on June 29, when the victim was with her friend and was awaiting the Indrive vehicle to come and pick them up from the Mega Mall shopping center in Rabat.
The victim said she ordered a ride via the InDrive application. Upon the driver’s arrival, the pair reportedly noticed a discrepancy between the car details provided, including color, model, and license plate.
The driver was also accompanied by a woman. The two friends then refused to go with the driver, citing safety concerns.
A verbal dispute soon turned into a physical assault. One of the women who ordered the ride was reportedly attacked when she attempted to take pictures of the vehicle’s license plate.
“I wasn’t notified that someone else was in the car. Then he asked me if it was I who ordered the ride. I said no, because I was afraid, and I put my phone on silent mode in case he’d get angry and start calling me. He then took my phone to check whether I was the one who made the ride order,” The victim told Morocco World News (MWN).
Tensions escalated with the driver, who allegedly asked the woman accompanying him to get out of the car and beat the other woman who ordered the ride.
“He said if she would not do it, he would do it himself. Then the lady took me aside and attempted to calm him down, and started to talk to me, and I emphasized that I could not take the ride with him,” she said.
The victim said she also tried to take pictures because he threatened her that he had her number and he would find her. The driver also attacked her, punching her in the face and causing serious injuries to her jaw.
The driver reportedly fled the scene before the police’s arrival. The victim filed a complaint against the driver, with an investigation ongoing to determine the circumstances of the case.
Eventually, police identified the suspect and arrested him.
Ongoing clash
The case comes amid an already fragile situation marked by constant clashes between the ride-sharing application and taxi unions.
Over the past months, several reports and viral videos have documented the clashes between taxi drivers and ride-sharing app drivers.
One of the latest incidents took place in December last year. Videos and eyewitness accounts of the clash documented scenes of physical violence (notably an exchange of punches and kicks) and verbal abuse.
The incident began when taxi drivers chased a ride-sharing driver through the streets of Rabat, converging reports indicated, adding that the chase started when the ride-sharing driver picked up a passenger at Agdal train station.
Many similar incidents have taken place over the years, dividing opinions across Morocco. Some have called on the Moroccan government to set up clear regulations overseeing ride-sharing applications operating in the country.
Earlier this month, Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Alaftit responded to concerns about the delicate challenges and the lack of regulations governing ride-sharing apps in Morocco. Laftit said that efforts are ongoing to develop a new system for taxis, noting that the current taxi system is no longer sustainable.
He pledged a modern approach with technologies to tackle the situation, noting that the goal of a similar project is to establish a system that responds to the requirements of the current phase and meets citizens’ aspirations without harming those working in the sector.
In July last year, Moroccan police also responded to a complaint filed by a woman, who reported being subjected to insults, threats, and verbal abuse by a driver working for Indrive.
Police intervention came after the victim shared a video in tears, recounting how the driver had threatened to “take her to a deserted area and assault her and that nobody would know about what happened.”
The woman also described how she narrowly escaped when the driver had horrifically attempted to assault her and rob her belongings in an isolated area.
