Skip to Content

Cancun Taxi Driver Smashes Window Of Uber With Tourists On Board

Share The Article

Last Updated

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.

Car accident broken glass.

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. 

person holding a smartphone with a ride sharing app open.

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. 

Top 5 Travel Insurance Plans For 2023 Starting At $10 Per Week

Easily Earn Points For Free Travel

outside cancun airport taxi

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.

Line of typical white taxi cars parked on street in hotel resort in Playa del Carmen - taxi is popular and cheap means of transport in Riviera Maya, Mexico

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.

Taxi Meter

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.  

Taxi Waiting in the Cancun Hotel Zone

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.

Taxis and Other Transportation Vehicles at Cancun Airport

Plan Your Next Cancun Vacation:

Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!

Choose From Thousands of Cancun and Riviera Maya Hotels, Resorts and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties


↓ Join the community ↓

The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean

the-cancun-Sun-facebook-group

Subscribe to our Latest Posts

Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.


Tahir Mehmood

Thursday 30th of March 2023

Whatever the reservations taxi driver have got, this is very strange that how they are able to make criminal attacks on others. Where is police and what they have done to safeguard innocent drivers & passengers from these thugs. Seriously unpleasant news

Gaby

Thursday 30th of March 2023

Was he arrested? I hope so.

Mj

Wednesday 29th of March 2023

Cancun cab drivers are Mafia thug extortionists.

Tahir Mehmood

Thursday 30th of March 2023

The law must it's way now

Concerned Cancun Tourist

Wednesday 29th of March 2023

Enough is E N O U G H. PERIOD. If a taxi driver in Cancun LOOKS at an Uber driver wrong, put him in prison for the rest of his life!!! They are God-damned lower than whalecrap scumbag criminals - they are CRIMINALS - they need to be in prison for life. Have no mercy on them. Beat the bloody hell out of the son-of-a-#itches if they mess with another Uber driver. I'm not an Uber driver (nor associated in any way with it or any other rideshare company), I'm a tourist. But every single mouth-breathing, demon, devil-worshipping scumbag piece of crap taxi driver that EVER, in their Godless life messes with, in any way a rideshare operator, needs to have their brains beaten out of them.

Tahir Mehmood

Thursday 30th of March 2023

@Concerned Cancun Tourist,

DOUG ABLITT

Tuesday 28th of March 2023

Got stuck at airport when pickup driver failed to show, York a cab to Playa Del Carmen, cost me $140 US, Double the normal, Go Uber, competition needed,