New taxi meters to be installed in Cancun public vehicles

With the installation of new fare meters in thousands of the city’s taxis, visitors to Cancun can anticipate paying more reasonable rates for their taxi trips throughout the city.

The announcement should help allay some of the worries that many tourists have about using taxis. For example, many visitors to Cancun flat-out refuse to hail taxis because they worry about being taken for a ride when it comes to paying the fare.

Taxi meters will soon be used throughout the state of Quintana Roo, according to Luis Rodrigo Alcázar Urrutia, director of the Quintana Roo State Mobility Institute (Imoveqroo).

Taxi meters will make fares much more transparent and difficult to inflate, which could mean an end to the notorious tourist pricing. Rather than charging customers according to the zones they travel to and from as is the case with the current fare strategy, taxi meters will calculate fares based on the length and distance of the trip.

More than 18,000 of the devices will reportedly be installed in taxis throughout Quintana Roo’s 11 municipalities.

This means that they will be operating in well-known tourist areas like Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum, ensuring that all visitors to the state will benefit from fairer and more affordable taxi costs.

Additionally, while tourists in other locations can typically rely on ridesharing services like Uber to get from point A to point B safely, this is not possible in Cancun.

The use of Uber has long been a contentious issue in the city, with both Uber drivers and passengers experiencing threats and assaults from regular taxi drivers.