The U.S. State Department late final month issued an ominous warning to vacationers visiting the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, advising them to keep away from rideshare apps corresponding to Uber and Cabify, a Spanish firm that operates in Latin America.
Whereas the app could be discovered in additional than 10,000 cities all over the world, the State Division mentioned it discouraged vacationers from utilizing Uber in Cancun, which has seen an uptick in hostility in the direction of rideshare drivers.
Right here’s the State Division’s warning:
Within the wake of latest incidents involving taxi and Uber drivers in Quintana Roo, U.S. residents are reminded of steerage offered on Journey.State.gov, particularly about the usage of application-based transportation providers in Mexico, which states: Software-based automobile providers corresponding to Uber and Cabify can be found in lots of Mexican cities, and customarily supply one other protected different to taxis. Official complaints in opposition to Uber and different drivers do happen, nevertheless, and previous disputes between these providers and native taxi unions have sometimes turned violent, leading to accidents to U.S. residents in some cases.
Why has this warning been despatched now? There was brewing stress between native taxicab unions, who’ve protested that rideshares ought to be topic to the identical guidelines they’re and ought to be ordered to have enterprise licenses, thus giving rideshare apps an unfair benefit over taxi drivers. Such stress has spilled out from the airport to fashionable vacationer points of interest such because the Kukulcán boulevard within the resort district.
Vacationers who’ve visited Cancun up to now might do not forget that rideshare choices weren’t available from Cancun Airport. Rideshares had been blocked from working in Cancun till just lately when a choose’s court docket order allowed rideshare apps like Uber and Cabify to operate legally in the area. Uber responded favorably to the ruling, saying that the corporate maintained that it didn’t require a public transport concession to function within the space, according to a report from the Cancun Sun, an area media outlet.
Excessive prices, coupled with aggressive techniques by drivers on the airport, have prompted some vacationers to forgo medallion taxicabs in favor of much-cheaper rideshare apps.
Uber, for its half, hasn’t made point out of any turmoil on its Cancun web page, as a substitute offering a map of the place Uber operates within the Quintana Roo area and providing value estimates for fares within the space. As an example, an Uber X from Cancun Worldwide Airport to the favored Lodge Zone (Zona Hotelera) has a minimal fare of simply 35 Mexican Pesos (roughly $2).
In sharp distinction, charges on the Cancun Airport’s web site checklist fares starting from $25 (if booked on-line) to $45 (if booked on the airport). These fares are in U.S. {dollars}.
Native stories say the army has been deployed at seashores and to the Lodge Zone–the place many all-inclusive resorts are situated–to keep away from violence between taxicab drivers and rideshare drivers from spilling over to vacationers.
Is It Protected To Use Uber In Cancun?
In latest weeks, in keeping with the Related Press, drivers and riders have been accosted by protesters–and a few vacationers hitched rides to the airport in police automobiles on account of the protests. Late final month, taxi drivers have been accused of pelting Uber drivers with rocks.
Whether or not you intend to take an area taxi, Uber, or one other rideshare choice, there are methods to be proactive about your security. The Uber app gives a function that enables pals or household to watch your location. Moreover, many smartphones, such because the iPhone, supply a “discover my” choice, that enables pals or family members to have entry to your real-time location.
Comparatively latest problems with violent crime in Quintana Roo have garnered worldwide consideration and unnerved vacationers, who had been assured that Cancun was comparatively protected. The State Division encourages vacationers headed to Quintana Roo to train warning within the area as a result of danger of crime and kidnapping.
In November 2021, two folks have been killed throughout a shootout on the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun, a 5-star resort. That assault, by which armed gunman reportedly arrived by boat and stormed the resort, was mentioned to be drug-related. And in January 2022, a gunfight at a resort close to Playa del Carmen killed a Canadian citizen and injured two others.
Nonetheless, the probability of violent crime in vacationer hotspots stays comparatively remoted.
The U.S. State Department late final month issued an ominous warning to vacationers visiting the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, advising them to keep away from rideshare apps corresponding to Uber and Cabify, a Spanish firm that operates in Latin America.
Whereas the app could be discovered in additional than 10,000 cities all over the world, the State Division mentioned it discouraged vacationers from utilizing Uber in Cancun, which has seen an uptick in hostility in the direction of rideshare drivers.
Right here’s the State Division’s warning:
Within the wake of latest incidents involving taxi and Uber drivers in Quintana Roo, U.S. residents are reminded of steerage offered on Journey.State.gov, particularly about the usage of application-based transportation providers in Mexico, which states: Software-based automobile providers corresponding to Uber and Cabify can be found in lots of Mexican cities, and customarily supply one other protected different to taxis. Official complaints in opposition to Uber and different drivers do happen, nevertheless, and previous disputes between these providers and native taxi unions have sometimes turned violent, leading to accidents to U.S. residents in some cases.
Why has this warning been despatched now? There was brewing stress between native taxicab unions, who’ve protested that rideshares ought to be topic to the identical guidelines they’re and ought to be ordered to have enterprise licenses, thus giving rideshare apps an unfair benefit over taxi drivers. Such stress has spilled out from the airport to fashionable vacationer points of interest such because the Kukulcán boulevard within the resort district.
Vacationers who’ve visited Cancun up to now might do not forget that rideshare choices weren’t available from Cancun Airport. Rideshares had been blocked from working in Cancun till just lately when a choose’s court docket order allowed rideshare apps like Uber and Cabify to operate legally in the area. Uber responded favorably to the ruling, saying that the corporate maintained that it didn’t require a public transport concession to function within the space, according to a report from the Cancun Sun, an area media outlet.
Excessive prices, coupled with aggressive techniques by drivers on the airport, have prompted some vacationers to forgo medallion taxicabs in favor of much-cheaper rideshare apps.
Uber, for its half, hasn’t made point out of any turmoil on its Cancun web page, as a substitute offering a map of the place Uber operates within the Quintana Roo area and providing value estimates for fares within the space. As an example, an Uber X from Cancun Worldwide Airport to the favored Lodge Zone (Zona Hotelera) has a minimal fare of simply 35 Mexican Pesos (roughly $2).
In sharp distinction, charges on the Cancun Airport’s web site checklist fares starting from $25 (if booked on-line) to $45 (if booked on the airport). These fares are in U.S. {dollars}.
Native stories say the army has been deployed at seashores and to the Lodge Zone–the place many all-inclusive resorts are situated–to keep away from violence between taxicab drivers and rideshare drivers from spilling over to vacationers.
Is It Protected To Use Uber In Cancun?
In latest weeks, in keeping with the Related Press, drivers and riders have been accosted by protesters–and a few vacationers hitched rides to the airport in police automobiles on account of the protests. Late final month, taxi drivers have been accused of pelting Uber drivers with rocks.
Whether or not you intend to take an area taxi, Uber, or one other rideshare choice, there are methods to be proactive about your security. The Uber app gives a function that enables pals or household to watch your location. Moreover, many smartphones, such because the iPhone, supply a “discover my” choice, that enables pals or family members to have entry to your real-time location.
Comparatively latest problems with violent crime in Quintana Roo have garnered worldwide consideration and unnerved vacationers, who had been assured that Cancun was comparatively protected. The State Division encourages vacationers headed to Quintana Roo to train warning within the area as a result of danger of crime and kidnapping.
In November 2021, two folks have been killed throughout a shootout on the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun, a 5-star resort. That assault, by which armed gunman reportedly arrived by boat and stormed the resort, was mentioned to be drug-related. And in January 2022, a gunfight at a resort close to Playa del Carmen killed a Canadian citizen and injured two others.
Nonetheless, the probability of violent crime in vacationer hotspots stays comparatively remoted.
