Taxi Fare Increase is now official :(

[Ron Lee]

On the mainland between Cancun and Tulum you have taxis, ADO and Mayab buses, colectivos and Playa Express (Cancun to PDC only?).

Granted this covers multiple towns.

Imagine a couple at a southern Cozumel hotel. Roundtrip taxi to/from town around $40 USD. That is pricey and I suspect that people will not do it often...if ever...on a typical trip.

Increase that cost to around $50 USD and the number of people going downtown will decrease.

Now drop it to $10 or so per couple and what do you think will happen? The number of folks who will go to town will increase.

 

[Mike]

Back in the 90s I could have sworn we were paying only $5.00 each way from town to the Allegro for a taxi, and I think that included a dollar for the tip.

Now those were the days!!!!

The law of supply and demand must not work in Mexico, with the increase in all the taxis there should be more competition and a trip like that should only run maybe 2 bucks today. If I keep thinking along these lines, if I apply the taxi laws of economics to computer chips my new laptop would have cost over 1 trillion dollars today.

 

[redacted]

I suspect that the reason that it is not simply an open market competition is that Cozumel needs to have enough public transportation running to handle a full port of cruise ships - is that 8? If they can't provide the transportation then the ships will have to go elsewhere and a much bigger segment of the economy than just taxis will suffer. Further, I doubt the goal of the fixed taxi prices is to protect the tourists. I suspect the primary reason is to prevent price competition among the taxi drivers.

 

[zinmaker]

What is the equivilant cost per gallon of gas in Coz? I just want to feel better than paying the current $5.00 per gallon here in Northern California.

 

[dmoore19]

What is the equivilant cost per gallon of gas in Coz? I just want to feel better than paying the current $5.00 per gallon here in Northern California.

Not sure about the date on this but I don't think it is going to make you feel better.

There are currently four gas stations on the island. Gasoline is nationalized in Mexico and the only brand is PEMEX. Gas prices remain relatively stable around $3.25 per gallon (we converted for you).


Visitor information for Cozumel, Mexico

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

One of the great things about diving is that there's no talking--not about politics, not about gas prices. But as to comparing Cozumel taxi rates to Chicago's, as an earlier poster sort of did, I think it costs about $2.50 to sit down in the cab and just under $2 a mile after that (not including the little upticks of time spent waiting in traffic) in Chicago; a 5-mile ride costs about $12 (I think the Cozumel airport is about 5 to 6 miles from the near-south hotels). I'm thinking that, based on Cozumel's zone system, it might cost no less per mile to take a cab at requested rates from the Blue Angel to the Chedraui (Google maps says it's about a mile), maybe less per mile from Blue Angel to one of the restaurants on Ave. 30. And I think last time we saw a local step out of the back of a cab that we were about to step into, she gave the guy a 20-peso note. Maybe she was the guy's mother--I don't know.

All that being said, there's no law that says that things in Mexican resort towns can't cost as much or more than their equivalents in major U.S. cities. And yes, we do just factor it in as a small part of overall vacation costs, and sometimes, if it's hot enough, or rainy, or someone's feeling unwell or gimpy, it's totally worth it.

But I'd sure like to get a line on some reasonable bicycle rentals. It's just a nicer way to get around, altogether.

 

[Ron Lee]

Ann, on the mainland you can get from PDC to Tulum for about 35 pesos (~$3 USD). So it is obviously possible to have cheaper transportation.

 

[DandyDon]

A bus system may well not work as well on the island as on the mainland, I don't know - it's a different market.

I still think the taxi union, drivers, including vans, will charge as much as they can get away with. They have a lot of control, and yeah - I think we can blame the cruise barges for their influence. Hate those. Business is business to the union, drivers, and boats tho - so we're stuck.

 

[Mike]

I like the taxi system on Jost Van Dyke, one of the kids of Foxxy's Bar drives his F-150 that he modified by removing the bed and added a couple of seats back there, he just drives around the place in a 5 mile one direction loop.

You've got a truck don't you Don?

 

[halocline]

But I'd sure like to get a line on some reasonable bicycle rentals. It's just a nicer way to get around, altogether.

That's usually what I do. There used to be a great bike rental shop on the island, Isla Bicycletta, but they went out of business after Wilma. Now it's tough to find a decent one.