Moov Services, Algeria’s first taxi service solely for women, has relaunched just three months after its activities were banned in Blida, Algeria’s northwestern province. The pink taxi service was suspended by the Blida province’s supervision of transportations after officials stated that the startup did not have a taxi license.
Critics argue that the suspension of Moov Services was unreasonable, given that other companies of the same type are functioning without a license in several Algerian districts. They also mentioned that the pink taxi service would not require a taxi license because it is part of a startup project, similar to yassir, Algeria’s most well-known taxi service.
“In a conservative society such as Blida, the creation of this VTC services was a matter of course,” says Leila Zeroual, the company’s manager, at the launch of the startup last week. “ Our startup aims to provide safe transportation for women and families.”
Moove Services while defending the company’s practices, maintained that the company was not in the taxi business. According to the company, female-only vehicles were identified by a plaque with the company’s name, “Service Moov,” rather than a taxi sign.
“Moov-Services is a startup that will engage in the same activity as the other startups licensed in Algeria and not a taxi transportation service. One wonders why the Ministries of Commerce and Startups support Moov-Services but not the Transport Department,” the company noted in a letter addressed to Algeria’s president, Abdul Majeed Taboun, who reportedly intervened to save the company from running into bankruptcy.
In the end, the company was given permission to continue operations, but only after a protracted legal battle with the management responsible for the pink taxis’ suspension.
Read also:Women-Only e-Hailing Startup, Moov Services, Suspended In Algeria One Week After Launch
Prior to the suspension, over thirty women took the plunge and became Moov Services drivers.
“Another absurdity is that the local authorities state that only taxi transportation is permitted, despite the fact that taxi licenses in Blida have been frozen for several years. The question is why the wilaya of Blida’s transport department does not require taxi drivers to work with taxis, as required by the regulations. Why does it ignore the outrageous costs levied by taxi drivers, who can charge up to 300 DA ($2.2) for a mere two-kilometer trip? Why are the buses so busy during pandemics and [why is the transport department] so unconcerned when people break the norms?
When some lines are profitable, why aren’t they served by state buses? Simply because Blida has a transportation mafia that is covered by the administration!” Writes M. Benzerga of elwatan.com
The suspension of Moov Services in Blida repeated a similar incident in December last year, when Morocco’s largest city of Casablanca declared the operations of ride-hailing startup, Yassir, within the Casablanca province as illegal, stating that it had not issued any authorization to the startup (called in full, Yassir Maroc Sarl) to operate within the metropolis.
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Yassir’s operations in Casablanca will not be the first to be declared illegal by the city’s authorities. In 2015, authorities issued a press release stating that “Uber Maroc’s activities in Casablanca are illegal” and that its activities are “not authorized, and expose people working there, as well as the drivers involved with the company to sanctions.” One of Uber’s sins was that while pretending to partner with local tourist transportation unions, it catered to young Moroccans using local credit cards — not tourists. In 2018, battered by the continued frustration, Uber folded up and left Morocco.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer