Taxi Prices Won’t Go Up In Cancun Despite Rising Fuel Costs

Last Updated 3 years ago

The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made oil prices rise considerably in the last few weeks. All things considered, the price of gasoline in Mexico hasn’t skyrocketed. At least not as much as it could have. Currently, gasoline prices in Cancun on average sit at around just under 86.95 pesos per gallon (about 4 dollars and 8 cents.). The price has been on the rise since November. In the last few weeks though, the price has seen almost daily increases. Members of the Taxi drivers union in Cancun have publicly declared that in spite of this their prices won’t go up. Taxi union secretary Rubén Carrillo Buenfil had this to say about a potential increase in taxi fares,

“The Andres Quintana Roo” Taxi union has not considered elevating taxi fares. There has been no request made or proposals sent to the state mobility institute for such a thing. In spite of the fact that gasoline prices have gone up and may continue to rise with the war between Russia and Ukraine.”

That Doesn’t Mean That Rates Won’t Go Up Regardless of What Happens         

With this statement Carrillo Buenfil essentially proclaimed that spring breakers, and people coming to Cancun in the next couple of weeks would be safe from rising taxi costs. He proceeded, though, to say that although rates won’t go up for now that may be a possibility if the war escalates gasoline prices even further. The good thing for travelers is that a raise in rates would be preceded by an official announcement. That would then have to be approved by the mobility institute. If rates do go up, locals and tourists would at least get a heads-up. 

Taxi Rates In Cancun Have Not Gone Up Since 2018

Another thing that Carrillo Buenfil highlighted was the fact that taxi fares had not seen an official rise since 2018. He remarked that although the prices on key goods to provide the service (gasoline) had gone up the union didn’t think it would be wise to raise the rates. They feel that they have a duty to try and help the Cancun area recover from the COVID pandemic. 

Currently, there are about 8 thousand cabs in the city of Cancun. At least that’s the number of cabs that are affiliated to the official local union. According to them about 40% of those cars have been recently updated to be able to provide better services to both locals and tourists.  

Tulum Prices Don’t Operate On Par With Cancun Prices 

It’s important to point out that only the Cancun taxi union has committed to not raising their prices. That may in large part be due to the fact that it’s essentially the only union in the area that has to compete with ride-share services. An Uber ride from 2 locations both located along boulevard Kukulkan, (the main hotel zone street) can set you back around 80 to 100 pesos (about 4 to 5 dollars). The prices could vary depending on the hour. Taxi rates tend to gravitate a bit over that mark. Ride-share services are not available outside Cancun though. The Tulum prices are known for being extremely expensive. 

We recently ran a comparison and discovered that prices on Tulum taxis were even steeper than what you’d have to pay in Manhattan to cover the same distance. Since ride-share services are not available in Tulum, and other parts of the Riviera Maya taxi unions can set very steep prices.

The government can step in to regulate official prices. However, drivers tend to want to make off the book deals with passengers, particularly international tourists. In an effort to scam them out of a few dollars. That raises the prices even further!             

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