Taxi hostages and running the gauntlet!

[morecowbells]

Too bad the taxi mafia has act like such dicks. If I had to choose between a shuttle or a taxi either from or to the airport, I would choose a taxi. I am surprised by the indifferent replies toward this incident. Sure I get the whole 'when in Rome' sentiment, but wait until your rental cars are harassed or vandalized by this mafia mentality. If they take the liberties of bullying the local shuttle drivers, the rental cars will be next.

 

[ReefHound]

I never tip taxi drivers except for the one we have a relationship with who takes us all over the island. As to the one-off situation, clearly the taxi union didn't see it that way, and it's their country and their rules. IMO, whoever arranged for the shuttles should have known better than to challenge them.

One off? Are you aware of any other time when a plane was canceled for the night and all the passengers put up at a hotel? If they don't "see it that way" then they are stupid. Some things are simply fact and not a matter of perspective.

 

[mediumone]

Take a taxi to the airport and the shuttles from the airport (or walk off the airport property). Those are the rules, and when in Rome...

Yeah, pick your battles
All the stress and drama over a measly $100 or $110 pesos.

 

[cvchief]

I have watched taxis lined way up the airport road just in case they can get a fare. I have seen groups of taxis sitting places you don't normally see that many, waiting to try to make a fare.

So what did United do? Contract with the hotel to get the people there, give them a room and get them back?

The rules says getting them back is a job for the taxi union. I am sure that taxi medallion isn't cheap.

So who decided to attempt to illegally transport those passengers? Did the hotel collect enough from United to taxi them back and instead tried to pocket that money by using the employee shuttle buses? Did United contract an illegal transport? Who did it?

Did we just have a thread on here where everyone was complaining about illegal, unlicensed dive boats operating and stealing from the licensed, legal dive ops? Is an illegal transport vehicle different?

Do the taxi people have a ton of political power and tend to flex it a bit and engage in intimidation? Sure. But who decided to break the law to start this?

 

[ggunn]

One off? Are you aware of any other time when a plane was canceled for the night and all the passengers put up at a hotel? If they don't "see it that way" then they are stupid. Some things are simply fact and not a matter of perspective.

Actually it was you who used the expression "one-off", and as a matter of fact I do know of another time when a flight back to the US from Cozumel was canceled and the airline put passengers up for the night; it happened to me in, I dunno, 1995 or so.

Taxis take tourists to the airport and shuttles take them from the airport unless they walk off the property or rent cars. Those are the rules that they have worked out in order for taxis and shuttles to coexist, and you thwart them at your peril. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to sneak tourists to the airport in shuttles is the stupid one in this debacle. Whoever paid for the rooms should have also paid the taxi fares and all would have been well; the money they saved by hiring the shuttles was probably a pittance compared to what the rooms cost.

 

[ggunn]

Too bad the taxi mafia has act like such dicks. If I had to choose between a shuttle or a taxi either from or to the airport, I would choose a taxi. I am surprised by the indifferent replies toward this incident. Sure I get the whole 'when in Rome' sentiment, but wait until your rental cars are harassed or vandalized by this mafia mentality. If they take the liberties of bullying the local shuttle drivers, the rental cars will be next.

I wouldn't worry about it; the rules that they have worked out take rental cars into account. This wasn't random harassment; someone decided to poke a hornet's nest and got stung. By the way, you can get into the same sort of trouble or worse in this country if you get crosswise with a labor union.

 

[Joneill]

I think there is a difference between normal situations and an extreme one-off situation of the entire planeload needing transport at the same time.

Just when it seemed like people were feeling empathy for taxi drivers they go and pull a stunt like this. What did they stand to gain? A few dozen drivers getting a couple of fares? At the expense of their reputation as an industry. I'm with the OP - the days of being generous with fares and tips are over with me.

If that BS is OK with authorities in Cozumel, I’ll just scratch it off my list of places to visit. There are plenty of other great dive destinations that would not tolerate that behavior!

 

[SlugLife]

I'm fairly care-free and don't stress even when people around me do. However, I can't agree with the "their country, their rules" type of responses, as if that makes this happened okay.

If the experience is terrible for any reason, it's reason enough to not go, or find another vacation spot. I'm not trying to impose my values on them, but rather The whole reason for going on vacation is to have a good experience. Why was the experience crap? Bad food, bad politicians, bad taxis, bad hotels, bad hospitals, riots, wars, etc? Other than the life-and-death reasons, it really doesn't matter why, just that it was crap.

 

[ggunn]

I'm fairly care-free and don't stress even when people around me do. However, I can't agree with the "their country, their rules" type of responses, as if that makes this happened okay.

If the experience is terrible for any reason, it's reason enough to not go, or find another vacation spot. I'm not trying to impose my values on them, but rather The whole reason for going on vacation is to have a good experience. Why was the experience crap? Bad food, bad politicians, bad taxis, bad hotels, bad hospitals, riots, wars, etc? Other than the life-and-death reasons, it really doesn't matter why, just that it was crap.

Note that I don't make any judgement on the "OK, not OK" spectrum, only that it's not surprising to me that it happened and it would have been an easy situation to avoid. It's not surprising to me that the police sided with the taxistas; they know the rules as well and at least tacitly enforce them. It's also worth noting that no one was harmed, merely inconvenienced, unlike in some similar labor disputes right here in the US. It's a tempest in a teapot.

Tourist dollars are the lifeblood of the transportation system on the island and the rules they have adopted are a result of compromise between competitors for that revenue stream in order to share that resource peacefully. It is indeed a "their country, their rules" situation, and if it is reason enough for someone to avoid visiting the island, then it's their loss, IMO, but so be it. It's very easy to avoid; just don't go poking the hornets' nest. This wasn't random harassment, it was a response to a deliberate flouting of the rules that anyone who knows anything about the island should be well aware of.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm guessing that flight crew normally arrive at the airport by taxi? In other words, NO ONE arrives by shuttle--ever?