The two entities recently announced the formalization of their strategic partnership within the Issal joint ventures, thus reaching a new milestone in their cooperation. (© Transdev)
The CTM Group and Transdev Maroc are strengthening their alliance in urban public transport by formalizing their partnership within the companies Issal Fès, Issal Tanger and Issal Tétouan. This cooperation, which draws on the complementary expertise of the two operators, supports the deployment of new bus networks in several large cities in the Kingdom.
The CTM Group and Transdev Morocco are strengthening their synergy to support the development of urban and peri-urban public transport in Casablanca. The two entities recently announced the formalization of their strategic partnership within the Issal joint ventures, thus reaching a new milestone in their cooperation. “The CTM Group and Transdev Maroc announce the formalization of their strategic partnership through their subsidiaries Issal Fès, Issal Tanger and Issal Tétouan, owned 51% by CTM and 49% by Transdev Maroc.
These joint ventures are dedicated to the development and operation of urban and peri-urban public transport networks in Morocco,” indicate the two parties in a recent press release. And to specify that the operations received the green light from the Competition Council, in accordance with a decision rendered on June 8, 2026. This formalization, in effect, consolidates a collaboration already underway on the ground through several delegated management contracts awarded by local authorities and supervised by the Ministry of the Interior.
In Tetouan, cooperation has been in place since November 2023 with Issal Madina. Since May 2026, it has continued within the framework of a new contract carried out by Issal Tétouan on behalf of the Intercommunal Cooperation Establishment (ECI) Achamal Al Gharbi. Ultimately, the network will have a fleet of 194 new buses. In Fez, Issal Fez has been operating a network with 149 new buses for the municipality since September 2025. A high level of service bus (BHNS) project is also being studied in order to strengthen the urban mobility offer. In Tangier, Issal Tanger has been operating since December 2025 on behalf of ECI Al Boughaz and Tanja Mobilité. The network currently has 216 new buses and should eventually reach 323 vehicles with the development of the BRT.
“These three contracts were awarded for an operating period of ten years,” we note from the same source. It should be noted that the creation of the Issal subsidiaries is part of a national dynamic marked by a strong transformation of urban mobility. It is intended to be the result of complementarity between the operational expertise of the CTM Group and the international know-how of Transdev in terms of urban mobility.
As a reminder, Morocco has initiated an ambitious program to modernize public bus transport, with an investment estimated at 11 billion dirhams (more than one billion euros) over the period 2025-2029. Jointly supported by the Ministry of the Interior and the regions, this program concerns 37 Moroccan cities and aims to sustainably improve the quality, performance and attractiveness of urban transport networks.
