Taxi hostages and running the gauntlet!

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It is a shame that post author encountered such situation. I think that many divers might reconsider going to Cozumel after reading such report. For ordinary tourist there is no difference who is right or wrong.... tourist just want to reach airport on time.

Cab drivers do not have sufficient brain to understand that it will not help them if they keep tourists as hostages. This ruins the whole tourism industry which will lead to less tourists and less income for the whole area.
Playing Devil's Advocate (as I said, I am neutral when it comes to the taxi union), it is unreasonable to assume that this was not thought out by the taxi union and deemed to have their desired result. They are very protective of their revenue stream and the rules they have devised to proportion it out to their rank and file. This incident was minor in the grand scheme of things and the tourist industry is by no means ruined by it; it certainly does not affect my plans to go to Cozumel in the future. I file it under "what did you expect would happen?"

Also, it is an overstatement to call the riders on the shuttles "hostages". I am very sure that if any of them had pulled their bags off the shuttle and gone to the street to hail a cab to the airport, no one would have stopped them. That's what I would have done.
 
So after 10 days of enjoying our first trip to Cozumel in 2 years, we were all set for the return home.
Timed our airport arrival well, sat for a few, boarded the plane and settled in. Then, the first pilot announcement comes- there was an alarm that wouldn't stop (assume that is was "false"?). Drinks were served up front, a few minutes pass, and they got it figured out- great! We taxi for takeoff, but the alarm's back and more, so back to the gate. Somebody called somebody who knows how to fix airplanes, but even he couldn't fix it. 7+ hours later, there we were in the Hotel Cozumel for the night, courtesey of UA.

The next morning, the whole plane-full of passengers, and crew, and luggage are amassed in the lobby for the return via shuttles. Not so fast... Seems the taxi union (and the police?) take the rules of transfers pretty seriously, and 2 red taxis with Vigilantia or something like that on the doors block the entrance and exit to the hotel lot! The first of the suttles gets past, but the taxi driver pounds the side as it passes. The blockade is now fully established.

The police are called and arrive, but simply make notes (tickets?), and do nothing to help. So as we all sit in the hot, humid lobby for most of an hour, the staff form a plan. Seems there is a gated back entrance/exit or 2, so the shuttle coordinator has small groups quietly make their way to the service exit where 3 or so shuttles full escape out the back. I asked if we should duck down... The "blockers" were looking across the lot, probably noticing the shrinking crowd. A few passengers gave in and took taxis (allowed in and out). We were in the last 2 shuttles in back, and as we're about to go for the gate- a red taxi appears and blocks it. We retreat, and the guard runs back to the shuttles. 5 minutes of strategizing, and the plan is commplete. She heads back to the blocked gate, putting a fake on the driver while our 2 shuttles haul-ass for he gate on the other end of the property. Hotel staff and guards hurridly wave us out while the cab driver tries to get there to cover. Nope, we're out! Big applause, but clearly we're not done yet.
Both shuttles take different and indirect routes. Ours is hauling down 5th (I think) and sure engough a couple taxis are clearly looking to get in the way, nosing out of the cross streets, but the driver did not yield! We made it with no more issues.

I found it quite funny, if not annoying, and I was never in fear of anything but being late. I tried to describe the shuttle vs. taxi thing to others on the van as best as I can, but they had kids and were not amused. If it had been my young family and some guy pounding on the shuttle scaring them, I might have had a hard time not getting involved, but I know that's not likely a good way to make the flight.
As we sit waiting for our next fligh home (just delayed!), I'm not sure what to make of it. I kind of want to blame United or whoever started the process, knowing that there is a real potential for this to happen. On the other hand, I can't condone how the taxi's or police handled it, but the guys in charge at the hotel were pretty inventive with th whole "sneak out the back" solution. For Cozumel, as a whole- not how you treat guests, and I have no doubt that those shuttle drivers are not happy about being caught in the middle. I heard people saying "we'll never return to Cozumel" which is not a great outcome for anyone. We'll be back, but I will not be the generous tipper of taxis I usually am, and will negotiate with them harder too (for fun?).

The diving was great!

Wow.. such a crazy incident. The taxi mafia is infamous, and the dive boat mafia is hot on their tails after a piece of that infamy. Luckily there is a lot of good in Cozumel to go along with the bad.

The appropriate way for a dispute between the taxis mafia and competing transportation groups would be either to involve the police or take it up in a court of law.

I can't believe there's people on this thread defending the taking of hostages. It boggles my mind on what must have happened to have made people think that such a thing is okay.
 
I can't believe there's people on this thread defending the taking of hostages. It boggles my mind on what must have happened to have made people think that such a thing is okay.

Taking hostages? Who was the hostage exactly? Certainly not any tourist looking to go to the airport. Anyone of them could walk right out there and get a legal taxi. It was just the illegal buses that could not move, not the people.

Maybe everyone should consider NEVER flying United to a foreign land as they don't follow the local law to the inconvenience and distress of their clients?

no-longer-friends-united.jpg
 
Taking hostages? Who was the hostage exactly? Certainly not any tourist looking to go to the airport. Anyone of them could walk right out there and get a legal taxi. It was just the illegal buses that could not move, not the people.

Maybe. Assuming they even knew what the issue was all about. Or that there were enough taxis to take 200 people to the airport.
 
Maybe. Assuming they even knew what the issue was all about. Or that there were enough taxis to take 200 people to the airport.

Well they normally handle what 10,000 people on boats on a good day? 200 plane passengers? Pshaw. That wouldn't even break a taxi sweat.
 
Well they normally handle what 10,000 people on boats on a good day? 200 plane passengers? Pshaw. That wouldn't even break a taxi sweat.

Also, I don't see a compelling reason why they would have to all go to the airport at once, any more than for any other flight out. In fact, I would rather not.
 
Of course we weren't "hostages", and some did cave to the "mafia" and take cabs. The drivers simply pushed the red cabs back a few feet, let them through, and pushed them back. 'Points for them going green!
 
Wow.. such a crazy incident. The taxi mafia is infamous, and the dive boat mafia is hot on their tails after a piece of that infamy. Luckily there is a lot of good in Cozumel to go along with the bad.

The appropriate way for a dispute between the taxis mafia and competing transportation groups would be either to involve the police or take it up in a court of law.

I can't believe there's people on this thread defending the taking of hostages. It boggles my mind on what must have happened to have made people think that such a thing is okay.
I don't know what you mean by "dive boat mafia"; either a boat has a marine park permit or it doesn't.

What's "appropriate" from a US centric point of view isn't necessarily how things work in another country.

As I and others have pointed out, the passengers on the shuttles were not hostages. No one was forcing them to stay on the shuttles.

And lastly, I make no judgement on whether what the taxi union did was OK, only that anyone with any experience at all with ground transportation on Cozumel should have known how they would react.
 
I don't know what you mean by "dive boat mafia"; either a boat has a marine park permit or it doesn't.
At the face of it, things sound okay. The problem is that new operators cannot get a permit. That changes the situation entirely. If anyone who wanted to run a dive op could get a permit for a reasonable price, then the permit system would be legit. In a town centered around diving, it's similar to having lands and a hereditary title that can be passed down from generation to generation. Others can work for those with titles/permits, but competing against them is not going to be allowed.

A year or two ago, the blessed few who have permits held actual meetings (and even publicized the fact) where they discussed methods to prevent those who weren't blessed from running a dive boat business.

Sure, it could be worse - take Cuba for example. Still, it's pretty bad.

I didn't really mean to derail the thread, I only mentioned it because the two groups are similar in many ways.
 
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