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.

 

[ggunn]

Adding $40 in cabs to go round trip to town from the landmark into town for dinner seemed a little ridiculous to me anyway

Is that dollars or pesos?

 

[Charred]

The problem is the taxis are getting crazy fares from cruisers and now its trickling into every other fair because why not?

 

[mcohen1021]

Is that dollars or pesos?

$20 US each way between Landmark and San Miguel

 

[NDL_Diver]

Adding $40 in cabs to go round trip to town from the landmark into town for dinner seemed a little ridiculous to me anyway

That is because you pay in USD. Taxi give 10 to 15 to 1 exchange. You can get the trip for 200 peso. Just say where you are going and what should pay in pesos.
Like I said, Taxi tells me $10, I say cien peso, they say Ok. Don't lowball them, say a usual rate plus what you would tip (round up a bit for inflation).
Been here 10 days with daily trips to town from North Marina area and ALL said ok 100 peso (75 is rate card rate). I always gave 25 p tip to roynd to 100 anyway so to me it is same same.
Pay in USD and you WILL get ripped off(100%).

 

[mediumone]

That is because you pay in USD. Taxi give 10 to 15 to 1 exchange. You can get the trip for 200 peso.
Pay in USD and you WILL get ripped off(100%).

That's right, NDL_Diver.
You've repeated the advice that's been given at least 100 times on this forum.
I cannot for the life of me understand why people get bent out of shape when they use another countries legal tender, and then complain.
Oh well

 

[ggunn]

That's right, NDL_Diver.
You've repeated the advice that's been given at least 100 times on this forum.
I cannot for the life of me understand why people get bent out of shape when they use another countries legal tender, and then complain.
Oh well

Absolutely. Paying for cabs in pesos is very simple; just go to a (bank owned) ATM and make a withdrawal in pesos. It takes less than a minute. Also, learn a few phrases in Spanish; that's not hard, either. If you insist on speaking only English and paying in US$ it is easy to see how a cab driver might see you as a rich tourist who won't miss a few dollars tacked onto a fare.

As my dad loved to say: don't fight the problem, solve it.

 

[mcohen1021]

Thanks.