Cancun Taxi Driver Smashes Window Of Uber With Tourists On Board

Last Updated 2 years ago

Over the weekend, an Uber driver had the window of their vehicle smashed by local taxi drivers with a tourist on board while they were operating in the Cancun Hotel Zone.

It’s been a few weeks without any news of conflicts happening between passenger taxis and Uber drivers operating in Cancun, but that ended the other day when a registered Uber driver reported that her vehicle was damaged by taxi drivers in the area. 

According to reports, the vehicle the driver was using to pick up and drop off tourists in the region was damaged by local taxi drivers when they were working in the Cancun Hotel Zone. 

The Uber driver had their car window smashed, and a tourist was a passenger in the vehicle at the time. 

The incident reportedly started around noon by Playa Tortugas. After the Uber driver pulled up to pick up their passenger upon request, they were approached by a group of taxi drivers that were parked nearby.

The drivers began attacking the car and ended up breaking the back window, which was right next to where the passenger was seated. 

No Reported Injuries After The Incident

Águeda Esperilla Soto, a spokeswoman for the drivers of the ride-sharing platform, also noted that the driver and the passenger weren’t injured as a result of the attack. 

On top of that, the driver didn’t call 911 or wait for police intervention following the attack. Instead, the driver just went along with their day and drove the tourists to their destination, as per their request. 

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Conflicts Between Drivers In Cancun Continue

Soto noted that this weekend’s attack was the first reported incident of the sort in over two weeks, with the last one recorded on March 8th.

Once the popular ride-sharing app came into Quintana Roo, tensions began escalating between drivers.

Taxicabs have been the norm in Cancun and the surrounding area for years, and they’ve been one of the main modes of transportation used by the thousands of tourists in Cancun on the daily.

When word was out that Uber would begin operating in Cancun in the latter part of 2022, reports began soon after of threats and attacks of drivers registered on the ride-sharing app while they were taking tourists around the city.

Numerous reports of incidents involving the platform drivers and taxi union drivers operating in Cancun occurred throughout the last few months of 2022 and into 2023. One of the major incidents also happened in the Cancun Hotel Zone in January of this year, when another Uber with tourists on board was attacked by taxi drivers. 

The attacks got so frequent that local Quintana Roo officials stated earlier this month that Cancun taxi drivers who attack Uber drivers would have their taxi licenses revoked.

Where Can Uber Operate In Cancun? Information For Travelers

The recent incident occurred in the Cancun Hotel Zone, as Uber drivers are now operating in that popular tourist area of the city.

At the beginning of 2023, a local judge ruled that Uber drivers were, in fact, legally operating in Quintana Roo, including Cancun. The ruling came following a four-year wait after the ride-sharing platform sent a permission request to operate in the region.  

Throughout the entire process, many Cancun taxi drivers have been very vocal about their objections to the ride-sharing platform operating in Quintana Roo.

Their argument is that those Uber drivers should be subject to the same regulations as them, which is to operate under the guidance of the state’s mobility law. 

Following January’s ruling, the law of the land became that local hotels, the Cancun International Airport’s taxi drivers union, as well as airport authorities could make the call if Uber would be able to operate in their particular zones.

But from the looks of it, the ride-sharing platform is here to stay in Cancun and the rest of this popular vacation destination.

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