Earlier this week, as the United Nations COP22 climate change conference commenced in Marrakech, the Moroccan Minister of the Environment Hakima El-Haiti took a spin on a new bike. And this wasn’t just any bike: El-Haiti rode a “Medina Bike” from the country’s new bike share—the African continent’s first.
Three hundred such “city bikes” (medina means “city” in Arabic) are now available at 10 docking stations throughout central Marrakech, including at the Koutoubia mosque and the 12-acre Majorelle botanic garden. Users can purchase passes for a day, week, or year for 50, 150, and 500 dirhams ($5, $15, and $50 USD), respectively, and are charged 10 dirhams ($1 USD) for each 30 minutes after the first half hour.
