Change in the Cozumel Bag Drag

[Dave Dillehay]

For those who have bypassed the airport's taxi van mafia and their cattle cars by walking their bags out to the traffic circle to catch a local taxi, saving time and money—things just changed.

The Federal Police (aka Federalies) have just started busting taxi drivers who stop for tourists at the traffic circle. It may be because the tourists have been standing on the airport property side of the street and that gives the Federalies jurisdiction.. And it may not be a problem if one crosses the street and is disconnected from Federal Property. I am not sure of that but it seems reasonable.

So if you try that and find taxis won't stop for you anymore, just try crossing the street.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

www.aldora.com

 

[deepsea21]

Airport Van Mafia vs. Taxi Mafia!

 

[Oldbear]

Thanks for the suggestion Dave...

 

[mmmbelows]

The police working for the vans now? Dang the taxi union must not have made their payments last month.

 

[ggunn]

Airport Van Mafia vs. Taxi Mafia!

Except that they are all the same guys. The taxi union runs the shuttles.

This crackdown on taxis picking up at the traffic circle is not new. If it is like the last times, they will relax after a while and things will go back to normal.

That said, if the practice of walking out there gets to be too popular, it will become impossible. It only works now (or did before now) because relatively few people do (did) it.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Except that they are all the same guys. The taxi union runs the shuttles.

But all the cops are not the same. IN fact there are many kinds of cops here. Municipal Police, State Police, Tax Police, Federal Police, Military Police etc-- and all have differing jurisdictions, some overlapping. Each has its own motivations and it is your guess as well as mine as to what's up.

Dave Dillehay

 

[JulieM]

Just did the walk last Saturday. No problem getting a taxi to stop for us. We did not cross the street.

 

[DjDiverDan]

I haven't done the walk now for several years - maybe 4 or 5 - but the last time I did it, 2010 or 2011 IIRC, I flagged a taxi right at the traffic circle and he said he was not allowed to pick me up there, that I had to walk down the street (toward Melgar) a ways, half a block, and he'd pick me up there. I had been picked up right at the traffic circle at least 3 times before that trip. So they have upped the pressure on the taxis in the past. I got too lazy to keep walking down the road to where the taxis knew they were safe, so I gave in and have used the Shuttles ever since.

 

[Mitch H.]

Thanks for the heads up ...

 

[WarrenZ]

Are the shuttles really bad enough to justify the drag or is it a cost thing?