Local News

[DandyDon]

I don't guess I knew about this service...

Cozumel's Uniper public transport service to stop operating - Riviera Maya News

Cozumel, Q. R. -- After years of island service, the pubic transport company Uniper will stop operating on the island.

www.riviera-maya-news.com

 

[ChuckP]

Last month, some friends we met at the pool were telling us they got a shakedown by the police while in a taxi. The police wanted a $250 fine but settled for $50. The driver told them that police from the mainland are coming over to the island and shaking down both tourists and locals.

This situation just screams the same. The locals are upset this is going on because it will impact Cozumel's reputation. This guy stepped in and it cost him....

There must be way more to that story - way more - were they in a taxi buying/using drugs or drinking? Those are the only possible things I could think of where the police would be involved with the passengers.

Police coming from the mainland? Absolutely absurd - not a chance in hell that is happening.

Your odds of being involved with the police are directly related to your stupidity. Bribes are only bribes when you pay them - do not pay them period. Traffic infractions are a few 100 pesos and take all of 15 minutes to pay and collect your plates/license - I did something wrong, give me the ticket.

The political climate has changed here with the new administration but in reality, all things remain the same. Pedro had the police on a shorter leash than Juanita does and he paid way more attention to actions around the tourist industry. Profina/morder is a way of life here - do not contribute to it, it just emboldens it. The Alegro fire with non working water pumps, the kitchen explosion are some of the latest BS that has exposed a few departments but that won't change anything.

 

[ggunn]

There must be way more to that story - way more - were they in a taxi buying/using drugs or drinking? Those are the only possible things I could think of where the police would be involved with the passengers.

Does Cozumel have an open container law that would make it illegal for someone in the back seat of a taxi to have an open beer? If so, I know lots of people, including myself, who have been in violation of it.

 

[ReefHound]

Well, this is newsy...

"INM officials reported reviewing documents of 124 Haitians, eight French, five Chileans, four Brazilians and one Austrian passenger. Of those, 73 were men, 50 were women and the balance, minor children between the ages of 5 and 10."​

Port-au-Prince plane sent back from Cozumel International after all 142 on board carried false passports - Riviera Maya News

A plane carrying passengers from varying nationalities was returned to its origin for trying to enter Cozumel, Mexico with false documents.

www.riviera-maya-news.com

It almost sounds like a renegade crew hijacked a plane and acted as coyotes.

 

[ReefHound]

Your odds of being involved with the police are directly related to your stupidity. Bribes are only bribes when you pay them - do not pay them period. Traffic infractions are a few 100 pesos and take all of 15 minutes to pay and collect your plates/license - I did something wrong, give me the ticket.

Yeah but how many tourists know that? They may think they are going to jail if they don't pay it or that the real fine will be ten times the bribe. They don't know where municpal buildings are, what they need to resolve it, or how long it will take. And if it's their last day or two on the island they may not have the time.

 

[El Graduado]

I don't guess I knew about this service...

Cozumel's Uniper public transport service to stop operating - Riviera Maya News

Cozumel, Q. R. -- After years of island service, the pubic transport company Uniper will stop operating on the island.

www.riviera-maya-news.com

Well, I am more than a little disappointed. I've been maintaining and updating my free, no-sign-in, no-personal-info-collected website, www.EverythingCozumel.com for over 12 years. Don, this Cozumel informational site has had maps of all the UNIPER routes and Taxi Union's colectivo routes since their inceptions, along with prices and rules of use. What should I do to get more people to read my website to find out these important bits of info? I try to include the things people are asking here on Scubaboard all the time (like the official taxi rates, which I photographed and posted), how car insurance really works in Cozumel, the actual boundaries of the marine park, and a gazillion other data points, but if no one looks at it, they miss out on a lot of useful things to know about the island.

I recently revamped the site. It is designed specifically for a smartphone now. Let me know what kind of info you think should be on it and I will try to add it. Use the "contact us" page on my site to tell me.

By the way, some of the old UNIPER bus routes (if they really do quit) may be given to the Taxi Union to use as colectivo (shared van) routes. We will have to wait and see. Could just be bargaining for a bigger subsidy or concession.

As far as starting a "local news" thread, I am kinda leary. It could backfire. I mean you could end up promoting a lot of "fake news." In my experience, most people who post "Cozumel news" are actually posting English translations of the Spanish texts generated by very poorly trained and poorly edited local reporters. Much (half? more than half?) of what these rags print is either incorrect or misleading, often intentionally so. They are best used for wrapping fish or putting in the bottom of your bird cage, not for use as a reliable source for real news.

 

[ReefHound]

Well, I am more than a little disappointed. I've been maintaining and updating my free, no-sign-in, no-personal-info-collected website, www.EverythingCozumel.com for over 12 years. Don, this Cozumel informational site has had maps of all the UNIPER routes and Taxi Union's colectivo routes since their inceptions, along with prices and rules of use. What should I do to get more people to read my website to find out these important bits of info? I try to include the things people are asking here on Scubaboard all the time (like the official taxi rates, which I photographed and posted), how car insurance really works in Cozumel, the actual boundaries of the marine park, and a gazillion other data points, but if no one looks at it, they miss out on a lot of useful things to know about the island.

I recently revamped the site. It is designed specifically for a smartphone now. Let me know what kind of info you think should be on it and I will try to add it. Use the "contact us" page on my site to tell me.

Mobile is where it's at. Do you have a good FB page to act as a quick channel? I have to say that your website looks like the year 2000 called. Very plain and uninviting with bare lists of links leading to walls of text. Chock full of information, for sure. I'll bookmark it and reference it but the current gen probably wants more sizzle to go with the substance. One glaring omission on your site is a search box. Many users will be looking for something specific and won't want to read through a long list of links to figure out which one it would be under.

 

[DandyDon]

Well, I am more than a little disappointed.

Disappointed because I did not know the UNIPER routes and Taxi Union's colectivo routes? I'd heard about them, but figured that they were beyond my needs & abilities to understand & use. And you offer so much valuable information here and on your site that it's challenging to keep up with. Anyway, you have my appreciation. Your site is a lot more dependable than google and its maps.

 

[ChuckP]

Does Cozumel have an open container law that would make it illegal for someone in the back seat of a taxi to have an open beer? If so, I know lots of people, including myself, who have been in violation of it.

I can't get a honest answer on that question from anyone. Same thing with beer on your breath, I had one beer one night and was taking someone home and was pulled over - big threats and not really knowing the law, I gave em 200 pesos (I know, I'm a firm believer in not paying but I had no idea what the law really was and 200 pesos is cheaper than a parking ticket)

There's open containers everywhere, sidewalks, motos, cars - bicycles..... I think it just leaves you open to possible harassment

I have seen them stop people in the streets with open containers but that is back in the hood and probably was for other reasons.

 

[lionfish-eater]

I was sitting on Melgar, drinking a beer with a local.
A police truck drove by and he hid his beer.
I asked him if it was legal and he said no, but ok for a tourist not us locals.