Bull cr*p. Of course they are going to stall the trips - no doubt. Plus, Im not in the mood to argue about the shortest route on EVERY single taxi ride. Steve: You dont have to share - I always tell them "Quiero ir solo, porfa" and boom - they dont stop for others Why not fix the stuff in this city that NEED to be fixed? The taxi-system has been great with the fixed fares. Tourists getting ripped off? The taxi and hotels all have the fares on paper to show for. Shouldnt be an issue there. This is a huge step backwards and gives the driver more incentives to stall, go around instead of cutting through etc. Imagine leaving the super market in a taxi, during rush hour... The only reason they would consider this is the chance to make more $$$ - be it legal or not. Good thing the bus system is decent - Im no no mood to support the taxista-cartel if they change this, haha
The fare in the hotel zone are a rip off. They are unfair. When you consider that you can go all over the downtown area for much cheaper then a single ride in the hotel zone it makes it a total rip off of both the tourists and the locals. Even locals would use the taxis in the HZ if the fares wer the same as in downtown more often then now. Take a note that hotels may post the fares outside the enterance to the hotel, but I can bet you that it will be hard to find that posting for a tourist nor does anyone tell them about it. As for this change to meters consider it nothing more than a legal fare increase without having to go through the red tape with the city. They drivers will earn more and the fares will sound like they are low to start with.
Show me one airport, tourist area, hotel etc. where taxis would have the same fare as in the city itself. Ive NEVER come across any city where the fares are the same in all areas. Good thing buses are cheap and plentiful. A set fare gives the customer a chance to say "yes" or "no". A meter can end up with either X or X. When the bridge was being fixed, the meters would have been a much bigger rip off than the set price. Basically its simple: Fares are listed = you know how much you have to pay. If its too expensive, well, take the bus. The meters are super easy to tamper with. Spending 1-2 hours with a meter ticking would probably be more annoying than a set fare, at least for me, personally. Ps. No way in hell that the fares would start at the same amount in the HZ as the city. Same goes for the Airport and other hotspots. $$$ talks.
Time you visit New York City. The meter rate is set by the city except from JFK airport where the rate is a set rate into the city. Otherwise once outside JFK the rate is the same no matter where you get into the cab.
I have been going to Cancun since 2004. I've went with apple vacations the first few times. Then expedia, orbitz and others. I only ever found out that there was a system with different rates in 2011 when I stayed in Andalucia for 2 weeks. I wish I knew this before. I've been charge 50 pesos to travel around downtown(not in HZ). I will never forget my biggest rip off. I went to cancun with little to no money after losing my job and having a trip already paid for. The hotel called for a taxi to take us to the airport. I asked how much and he said 40 pesos. so I held up 40 pesos and he said "si". Well when we get to the airport he demanded 40 dollars. I was a stupid american and didn't know any better... so i yelled for the police. I ended up paying the man his 40 dollars which was the last of my money.... and then cursed him out in spanish. Makes me mad but I learned my lessons: Don't take taxis in HZ.... know how much the fare should be..... and book a transfer in advance! lol. I've never seen a posting at a hotel for rates. I only saw the price per area or whatever they are called from a friend. Meters may suck or they may be great. Who knows! Time will tell i guess!
By the city? I have no clue who sets the rates here, but I assume the Taxistas and the "Mayor" could have a say in it? So, the JFK has a different rate then - that was my point. "Problem" here is the separation of the HZ and the city, allowing them to set prices much like City - Airports.
Consensus among those who live here, who rely on taxis to any extent (or have, in the past, as I have) is that this is a very unfortunate development. The fixed tariffs by zones was working well, for the consumers. Tourists, had they been informed about the tariffs, would also have benefited. Those who make their living off tourists should take the lead in informing our visitors about the fixed rate system we have in place here.
It's ok, I saw it the first time. You mean something like this page that has been there for the last 10 years? Taxis in Cancun
No, in fact what is says is misleading by suggesting the fares are negotiable, rather than set. What I meant was publish the zone system that is used in Cancun to determine the price of a ride from point A to point B. The entire city is divided into zones and the driver and passenger can consult the table of fares by zones to know what a ride should cost. The same system is employed in the hotel zone, but the fares are set by what KM marker the hotel is located as I understand it. The fares start at 80 pesos, so when a driver in Cancun tells me he's going to charge me 80 pesos to take me to Belga Restaurant, for example, I can know he's not overcharging. Some hotels post these set rates so their customers can see them. I was suggesting you do the same, with your website. In a case like this, as well as others, knowing what the price should be for a given service makes it far easier to avoid being risked off. I would never negotiate a fare into or out of the hotel zone, or anywhere else: if I negotiated I'd be sure to end up paying more than the published rate.
Not misleading at all. If you think HZ fares are not negotiable then you must be living in a different Cancun to me. I wrote a brief practical guide to using taxis in the HZ for tourists who don't visit very often. I wrote it 10 years ago and it's still as valid today as it was then. Yeah there might well be zones, but who really gives a shit? Taxi drivers will charge a tourist or uninformed local as much as they think can get away with, and most tourists don't know one end of Cancun to the other. The advice is simple and straightforward; don't use sitios, agree a price when you get in and if you think it's too expensive flag another cab and ask again. 99.999% of locals do it this way, they mostly don't know HZ zone prices either - but they do know the cheapest price they can usually get away with. Then there's the other 0.001% who probably laminate the official zone rate card and carry it with them at all times and prepared to defend their 'superior knowledge' ad nauseum.
