Taxi blockade at airport

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gopbroek

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Another good reason to rent a car and come from Cancun.
 
Were they allowing vehicles out of the airport? I can only imagine how I would have lost my mind given I usually rent from Fox/Mexi at the airport. Had I been on the way to the airport for my departing flight, I am sure Fix?Mexi would not be thrilled with me leaving their car outside the airport.
 
Another good reason to rent a car and come from Cancun.
I'd recommend doing this in the other order though. (Is there a car ferry from Cancun?)

The taxi union seems like a pretty big pain on the island; but I wouldn't drive there, so it's the option I have.
 
I'd recommend doing this in the other order though. (Is there a car ferry from Cancun?)

The taxi union seems like a pretty big pain on the island; but I wouldn't drive there, so it's the option I have.
No. The car ferry from the mainland to Co is just south of Playa del Carmen.
 
Actually, the Taxi Union is not blocking the airport entrance, they are just parking along the airport boulevard and nearby streets in a show of force. The eastern wire-mesh gate (entrance gate) is closed but manned by security guards who open it for rental car returns or private cars. The exit gate (west gate) is blocked by a federal police car, so the entrance (east) is now being used as a two-way entrance/exit. Federal troops are stationed inside and around the airport (as are federal police) to protect the airport should things get out of hand with the Taxi Union. The Taxi Union is protesting the federal law that allows commercial vehicles (taxis, buses, limos, etc.) with federal license plates (rather than Q. Roo plates) to carry paying passengers freely within Mexico's borders. A new company (Ofelia, I think) is trying to start carrying passengers to and from the Cozumel airport and the taxi union is "protecting their turf", even though the airport is a federal zone and the federal plated vehicles have a right to service it.

Looks like the guards are not letting taxis onto airport property, only private cars and rental cars. If you go to the airport in a taxi, you will need to walk from the gate to the terminal. There are some porters available at the gate to help with luggage.

If you think Uber is coming soon to Cozumel, you must also believe in Santa Claus!
 
Thugs! :laughrant:
 
I was in a private car and the police directed us to turn off the airport to the left of the circle at 2PM. There were a number of people doing the bag drag onto the airport.
 
I was in a private car and the police directed us to turn off the airport to the left of the circle at 2PM. There were a number of people doing the bag drag onto the airport.

I entered the airport property at 10:30 AM with a private car in front of me and another behind me. The security guard swung the gate open for us. I did see a slew of folks walking up the avenue dragging their bags. I assume it is a typical example of how poor communication between police officers and their supervisors can lead to various conflicting instructions. My modus operandi is, if you don't like the answer, ask someone else!
 
I decided I wasn't going to be the first one to post this, since it appears to be a one-day affair, and some folks here allow themselves to become unhappy and upset when they see bad news. But since the cat is out of the bag ...

Had I been on the way to the airport for my departing flight, I am sure Fix?Mexi would not be thrilled with me leaving their car outside the airport.
Probably a lot more stressful for you, being surprised upon arriving at the airport. The car rental companies may not be thrilled, but they know it's part of doing business.

Is there a car ferry from Cancun?)
[Edit - Oops! Misread this. There is a car ferry from Playa, not Cancun.] I find the car ferry quite pleasant, and if one is prone to seasickness, you might even prefer the much larger vessel. The downside is that the schedule is much less frequent (six times per day, I think, versus hourly), and the cost is about double.

The Taxi Union is protesting the federal law that allows commercial vehicles (taxis, buses, limos, etc.) with federal license plates (rather than Q. Roo plates) to carry paying passengers freely within Mexico's borders. Federal troops are stationed inside and around the airport (as are federal police) to protect the airport should things get out of hand with the Taxi Union.
Quoted out of order to emphasize the point - law enforcement is taking no action, even though the actions the taxistas are protesting against (the federal shuttles) are legal, and the actions of the taxistas are not (I suspect I would not be allowed to block access to a Mexican federal facility because I don't like ... their haircut, or whatever). Law enforcement is very different in Mexico, and often challenged by limited resources, but I find this refusal to support legal activity disheartening.

If you think Uber is coming soon to Cozumel, you must also believe in Santa Claus!
Uber is readying it's support infrastructure in Cancun. My understanding is that federal law authorizes Uber nationwide, and QRoo has no legal standing to deny it. If I recall correctly, a judge has ordered the QRoo Transport Ministry to approve Uber to operate, and they are awaiting one last signature.

With that in mind, and I hope I'm wrong, but once Uber resumes operations, I suspect there will be protests and violence. A taxista in Cancun was killed recently (this month?), related to an altercation with a suspected Uber driver (it appears he was in the roadway and killed by a passing truck, that was not otherwise involved with the incident.) An Uber driver was killed in an altercation with taxistas, when Uber was operating previously in Cancun.

While I don't believe in Santa Claus, I do believe that, however slow, the wheels of Mexican jurisprudence and bureaucracy will inexorably grind forward. Once Uber is operating in Cancun, it won't be long before it's up and down the Riviera Maya. Cozumel may try to hold out, and there may actually be more resistance here because of the large number of taxis servicing the cruise industry and a geographically much smaller area. But if you think Uber will never come to Cozumel, what did the Easter Bunny bring you this year? :p
 
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