Question Are You Tired of the Taxi Ripoff?

[living4experiences]

I've just arrived in Cozumel and have been ripped off four times by taxi drivers! I thought I did enough due diligence to be informed about what I should be paying from point A to point B, but the taxi Mafia has little care about adhering to their rules. The first three drivers refused to provide me the rate card. The fare should have been 260 pesos from Casa Mexicana to Iberostar. The first two drivers quoted 350 pesos to which I countered with the correct fare. The price was lowered to 300 pesos. Once I mentioned I wanted to see the rate card, they all of a sudden didn't understand what I was talking about. I walked away and headed down the road on foot to catch another taxi. Driver number three said 300 pesos and also refused to provide the rate card. Now I was running out of time to get to my destination, so I paid the $300 pesos.

Coming back from iberostar, with no option, I was forced to pay the $300 pesos from Iberostar to Casa Mexicana. Once we arrived, I waited till my stuff was out of the van and then I asked the driver for his rate card, to which he did not know what I was talking about. I then typed the question into Google Translate and showed it to him. He looked dumbfounded and wouldn't answer, even seeing the question in his own language. I then went to the front of the van and took a picture of his license plate. He conveniently found a rate card. This rate card was in USD for cruise ship passengers only, for transportation from the International and Punta Langosta Piers. It occurred to me now that the drivers are charging regular tourists the cruise ship passenger rates all the time. This was not a zone rate card and it was not in Spanish or Pesos. When I asked to take a photo of the rate card, he refused. Now I'm angry and telling him that by law he needs to show it to me. He finally let me get a photo, but he didn't make it easy and wouldn't let me touch it. He says that Casa Mexicana is at Punta Langosta Pier. So somehow that means I'm a cruise ship passenger?

I would be interested to know what the community here does in these situations in Cozumel. Besides taking a picture of the license plate, what other photos should one gather in the event of filing a formal complaint? I'm not saying I would take time from my vacation to do so, but this might be enough of an intimidation to the driver that I'm not a customer that will be taken advantage of.

I'm thinking that Maybe I should just get in the cab, knowing the price, and pay it at the destination. If he has a problem with it, then that would be another issue.

 

[gopbroek]

And they got arrested today,

Taxistas que agredieron a turistas en Playa del Carmen son detenidos por narcomenudeo

Los taxistas señalados por agredir a una pareja de turistas en Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo fueron detenidos por narcomenudeo

www.yucatan.com.mx

I am SHOCKED!!! Taxi drivers dealing dope.
I suspect they were culled from the herd due to the video of these clowns beating tourists who resisted robbery. Without the video circulating on line I doubt the authorities would have done anything.

 

[ggunn]

I am SHOCKED!!! Taxi drivers dealing dope.
I suspect they were culled from the herd due to the video of these clowns beating tourists who resisted robbery. Without the video circulating on line I doubt the authorities would have done anything.

At the risk of my seeming to treat drug trafficking too lightly, here's a funny story:

Years ago, one night a friend of my dad ran out of the soft drinks he was keeping in a cooler in his room, so he flagged a cab out front of the hotel to go get some more. He did not speak any Spanish at all, but he got across to the cab driver what he wanted to acquire, or so he thought. He had told the driver that he wanted to go get some Cokes, but when the driver started taking him deeper and deeper into the back streets it dawned on him what the driver thought he was looking for.

 

[ReefHound]

I am SHOCKED!!! Taxi drivers dealing dope.
I suspect they were culled from the herd due to the video of these clowns beating tourists who resisted robbery. Without the video circulating on line I doubt the authorities would have done anything.

My bet is nearly all the drivers are involved in something and the cops know enough they could arrest any of them at any time. These guys drew unwanted publicity so they pulled them in. I doubt anything much will happen to them, probably get a good talking to not to act stupid in front of tourists since everyone has a cell phone with a camera these days. I get the feeling the tourist was not too polite in refusing to pay the fare and egos got hurt.

 

[judydivescoz]

Beginning to think some of you need to never use taxis ever again. I wouldn’t if I thought they were dope dealing violent guys. A few live in our neighborhood with their families. My biggest complaint is that one of the them feeds the pigeons in front of his house, they then roost on our palapa making a mess. Going to stick with my 3 or 4 times a week rides in taxis from Centro to my home…..sometimes getting “ripped off” 10 pesos more than the “rate card” and be happy for the ride. FWIW, most drivers make sure I am safely in the house before they drive off.

 

[gopbroek]

Does anyone know the Moto Taxi color codes. I understand that the Moto Taxi's and the traditional taxies have an agreement as to which customers the Moto Taxi's are allowed to serve and it depends on the roof color as to which customers and where they are allowed to operate.
So far I have noticed
Purple roofs
Red roofs &
White roofs
Does anyone know the significance and agreements for each color?

 

[Dan G]

Just returned from the island and we used the moto taxis several times. I did not notice anything about roof colors, but they are not allowed on Melgar and one moto driver said he was not allowed to take us even though we were out on Av 30. It was fairly easy to flag one down east of Melgar by just a block or two.

I communicated with one driver multiple times via What's App and arranged rides. We would walk from Blue Angel to the car ferry and turn up calle 31 where he or his wife would meet us. That was also where he would drop us off. Prices were about 1/3 of taxi fares. I paid $80 MX to go from El Moro to the ferry drop off point. Shorter rides such as going to Ruta 25 or Tzalam were $40MX.

 

[ReefHound]

I communicated with one driver multiple times via What's App and arranged rides. We would walk from Blue Angel to the car ferry and turn up calle 31 where he or his wife would meet us. That was also where he would drop us off. Prices were about 1/3 of taxi fares. I paid $80 MX to go from El Moro to the ferry drop off point. Shorter rides such as going to Ruta 25 or Tzalam were $40MX.

Were they fair pricing up front or did you have to haggle?

 

[Dan G]

Were they fair pricing up front or did you have to haggle?

Up front. One driver asked stated a fare of $50MX to go somewhere it had cost me $40MX the day prior, so I asked for $40MX and he agreed easily. I ended up just giving him $50MX anyway. Not one moto driver played the "I don't have change" game, either, which was refreshing.

Kept with the habit of getting a price up front with the exception of the driver whose number I had. After 2-3 rides, I stopped asking in advance because I knew he would would ask for a fair price at the end. Never disappointed.

We decided that it would be a good idea to stay away from intersections that are busy with cabs (such as ones with gas stations) so as to draw less attention to using the motos. We have no idea if that matters, even east of Av 20, but decided to do it anyway.

 

[anchochile]

What should I expect to pay from Casa Mexicana to El Moro? The old rate card says 27 pesos. I’m hearing 100 from every driver I ask and they say the official rates are only for locals. When I try to negotiate down they laugh and are happy to let me walk away.

 

[brsnow]

What should I expect to pay from Casa Mexicana to El Moro? The old rate card says 27 pesos. I’m hearing 100 from every driver I ask and they say the official rates are only for locals. When I try to negotiate down they laugh and are happy to let me walk away.

What’s the difference if they are willing to let you walk?