Cancun taxi drivers operate like a mafia by intimidating and assaulting Uber users and drivers .
The video quickly went viral and caused outrage among netizens, who shared their bad experiences with the taxis of the beach destination.
In social networks, national and foreign tourists have exhibited violence and abuse in the collection of taxi driver fees.
@soyguselcancunence Hasta cuando #imoveqroo#cancunmexico#fyp#parati#viral#uber#turistas♬ sonido original – Soy Gus
In Quintana Roo, 14 taxi driver unions have the tourist areas under their control and do not allow the operation of Uber, despite the fact that, on January 11, Magistrates agreed with the platform, in an injunction that allows them to give the service without the need for a concession.
A recent case was registered on Thursday night. A Russian family was tormented by a group of taxi drivers who cornered the Uber vehicle.
The Uber picked up the family in Plaza las Américas and was heading towards the hotel zone of Cancun, when the drivers of the Andrés Quintana Roo Taxi Drivers Union blocked the way and lowered the passengers.
Between the tears of the woman who was carrying one of his children, a taxi driver who held them argued that Uber’s operation in the area is illegal and that, therefore, they should get into one of his units.
Another complaint in networks is that of the tiktoker Chad Scott.
“Did you know that one of the most corrupt businesses in the world is located in Cancun? Well, it’s actually the taxi service in Cancun,” he says in a post. He accuses that making a trip of about 3 kilometers costs 25 dollars, around 472 pesos.
In his video, Scott recounts how complex it is to move from one point to another in Cancun and accuses how expensive it can be for tourists to make a trip of about 3 kilometers for 25 dollars.
Scott recounts that when he decided to take an Uber from his hotel, no driver risked taking the service.
“I asked the owner of the building and he said, ‘Look Chad, if you ask for an Uber, it could literally cost you your life.'”
Another TikTok user, identified as Joshua Black, reported being scammed. “Why when I take a taxi in Manhattan does it have a meter, but when I take a taxi in Cancun, doesn’t it?” He posted.
On Friday, a tourist who requested an Uber at the Krystal Hotel, located on Bulevar Kukulcán, was hit by another group of local taxi drivers who tried to prevent him from boarding the unit. For these events, the arrest of two operators was reported.
On Avenida Yaxchilán, another altercation took place the same day after taxi drivers blocked the driver of an Uber unit to try to intimidate him.
After the events, the “Andrés Quintana Roo” Taxi Drivers Union justified the attacks. “Just as today the voice is raised to condemn the taxi drivers, we also raise the voice to demand certainty and actions against the activities that violate our source of income,” he said.
The union members condemn that the local magistrates protected Uber without requiring it to process a concession.
Monopoly
The way in which taxi drivers operate in Quintana Roo is a kind of monopoly controlled by 14 unions that control the main tourist areas of the state. The “Andrés Quintana Roo” Union has 12,000 cars on the road in Cancun, along with the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río union, in Playa del Carmen, which has at least 7,000 vehicles.
Although the Official diario of Quintana Roo establishes that the minimum rate is 37 pesos, the operators determine the cost of a trip for themselves. Thus, a short tour can cost up to 25 dollars.
Source: reforma.com, infobae.com
