National Express on the move with €1bn Moroccan contract
National Express has signed a major €1bn, 15-year contract in Morocco.
The firm’s Spanish and Moroccan division, ALSA, has been awarded the contract in Casablanca.
The contract will start in November with an initial 400 buses in operation. This will increase to 700 buses next year, carrying 100 million passengers annually. As well as operating the bus services, the contract includes responsibilities to introduce new payment and scheduling systems, alongside a network re-design.
Dean Finch, chief executive, said: “I am delighted we have secured this significant contract in Morocco. This nearly doubles our presence in Morocco, which had already doubled in August with Rabat’s successful start-up. We will now operate more buses in Morocco than the UK. We look forward to serving the people of Casablanca soon.
“It is particularly pleasing that our track record for service excellence in Morocco was an important reason for our success. A similar reputation was also crucial to last week’s successful renewal and significant expansion of our second largest US transit contract, in Boston. It is through this consistent focus on excellence for our customers that we will continue to deliver growing shareholder returns.”
The news follows the Birmingham-based group’s announcement earlier this year that it was taking a 60% stake in Silicon Valley’s shuttle service in a £64.5m deal.
National Express announced in April it was taking a stake in the US-based employee shuttle company WeDriveU which serves many of the largest companies in Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area.
