As usual, many Casablancais travel on the occasion of Aid Al-Fitr. To do this, they head during the last days of the month of Ramadan to the Ouled Ziane bus station to book their tickets, despite a relatively timid movement of traffic and persistent hope. An unusual scenario for professionals who are looking for lost time.
According to professionals in the sector, particularly coach drivers and brokers, demand for tickets remains weak, however the recovery is there after a period of crisis which lasted two years due to the pandemic linked to the coronavirus.
For Si Hamid, driver of a coach linking Casablanca to Tangier, demand does not reach the levels recorded in ordinary times before 2020, expressing the wish to see reservations multiply during the next two days.
This drop in demand is mainly due to the economic situation of some and the choices of others who prefer to travel later, especially during Aid-Al-Adha, he adds, stressing that the cost of fuel also plays a bad role. turn to professionals.
On the traveler side, we met Lalla Hada, a 50-year-old from Sebata who booked her ticket for a departure on Sunday May 1 to Chichawa.
“I want to spend all the religious holidays with my son and my nephews who live in Chichawa”, says this lady with joy. Met at the counters of the Ouled Ziane station, when she was booking her one-way ticket, Lalla Hada remembers the years when the Ouled Ziane station welcomed a large number of travelers who came to book travel tickets, all destinations combined. .
After two years of the pandemic, life is slowly picking up again, says this lady, adding that the future will be even better.
A little further on, Omar, accompanied by his two children, comes to inquire about the departure times of the coaches bound for Fquih Ben Saleh.
“We have decided, my wife and I, to spend Eid Al-Fitr with our family. We will leave the day before Eid. It is a custom that we strongly preserve and wish that our children will do the same”, he let know.
As this religious holiday approaches, Ouled Ziane station usually sees a lot of movement, but this year, several factors have meant that demand is relatively low. However, professionals remain hopeful of seeing even more travelers arrive in the coming days.
The long queues in front of the ticket offices, an image that once stuck to this station, are no longer there, and professionals remain optimistic in search of lost time.
Par Bouchra Naji (MAP)