The US Division of State is warning vacationers to not use app-based ride-sharing companies, similar to Uber, within the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, which is house to quite a few journey hotspots.
The safety alert applies to well-known vacationer areas similar to Cancun, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, that are perennially common with People.
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“App-based automobile companies like Uber and Cabify can be found in lots of Mexican cities and usually provide one other protected different to taxis,” the US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico wrote in an alert. of safety. “Nonetheless, official complaints are filed in opposition to Uber and different drivers, and previous disputes between these companies and native taxi unions have sometimes turned violent, leading to accidents to US residents in some circumstances.”
The State Division’s warning was evidently prompted by a sequence of incidents that occurred in Cancun earlier this week, when the town’s conventional taxi drivers had been offended by the presence of Uber drivers on their turf.
On Monday, angered by the brand new competitors Uber launched, “medallion taxi drivers started harassing and attacking Uber app drivers and their prospects,” the Related Press reported.
Of their outrage, taxi drivers even blocked the busy major road of the Lodge District, forcing some vacationers to stroll or take native police rides. The Cancun police division shared images of individuals driving within the beds of police vans, explaining that “given the blockades on Kukulcán boulevard, our visitors officers helped individuals get to the airport.”
In one of many many movies uploaded to social media, a taxi driver might be heard yelling “it is unlawful, unlawful” to a household of vacationers. The cable service famous that ride-hailing apps had, actually, been banned in Cancun till early January 2023, at which period a courtroom order granted Uber permission to function within the resort-packed vacation spot.
Different posts present teams of uniformed drivers berating and even roughing up vacationers, in addition to taxis surrounding and blocking suspicious Uber autos. An area resident, who was simply attempting to take a couple of individuals, stated taxi drivers dented his automobile by throwing rocks at it.
The mayoress of Cancun, Ana Patricia Peralta, referred to as on the uncontrolled taxi drivers to include themselves. “I’m not going to permit a small group to wreck the fame of the resort and human security,” she stated in a recorded message.
Given the excessive fares charged by Cancun’s medallion taxis, it is no shock that many vacationers go for ride-sharing companies. Uber’s presence within the space will possible arrange an actual rivalry with native taxi corporations.
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