Mexican Taxi Mafia – How to Deal in Tulum, Cabo, etc

What is a Taxi Mafia? 

Wondering why there are never any Ubers in popular tourist destinations? That’s because of the Taxi Mafias which are a worldwide phenomenon pushing Uber and other ride-sharing apps out so they can overcharge tourists. Stories from the infamous Taxi Mafia in Mexico are all over social media, as tourists get ripped off and intimidated on their vacations left and right – especially in popular tourist destinations on the Mayan Riviera like Cozumel, Cancun, and Tulum. 

It’s not so black and white with Uber = good, taxi drivers = bad in Mexico. Licensed taxi drivers in Mexico need to pay proper licensing fees to the government, which drivers for ridesharing apps like Uber and Didi don’t have to do. Licensed taxi drivers in Mexico are rightfully upset that ridesharing apps are cutting into their bottom line since they can offer trips for much cheaper by circumnavigating regulations. 

The “mafia” aspect comes into this because there is so much money to be made by overcharging tourists vacationing on the Mayan Riviera that the taxi drivers force the competition out, by intimidation and sometimes resorting to violence. 

This is why you’re able to take an Uber easily in a city like Merida but won’t find any Ubers operating in a touristic area like Cancun Hotel Zone. It’s not that Uber doesn’t operate in Mexico, it does, it’s that the Uber drivers are too afraid of the Taxi Mafia to work there.

My Experience With the Taxi Mafia in Tulum 

One of the most common taxi scams in Tulum and other tourist areas on the Mayan Riviera is when a taxi takes you to the wrong place, and then demands a much higher fee to then take you to the correct location you originally asked for. 

This is only common with taxis you call off the street because if it was a ride called off of a ride-hailing app like Uber, the drive would be tracked by a GPS and it wouldn’t be so easy to pretend it was a misunderstanding. 

This happened to me in Tulum when a friend and I were trying to get to the Muyil Ruins. We showed a taxi driver where it was on the map, but instead of taking us to Muyil, the taxi driver took us 15 minutes in the opposite direction to the Tulum Ruins. We had paid 200 pesos for the original ride, and when we expressed that this wasn’t our destination the taxi driver demanded 600 pesos more to take us to the correct site! 

Since he had driven us out of the city center we didn’t have a choice but to pay him because there were very few other taxis around. If there were taxi apps in Tulum, the taxi drivers wouldn’t be able to scam tourists like that, but the Mexican Taxi Mafia has pushed all the ride-hailing apps out. 

Mexico Taxi Mafia Horror Stories 

There are so many horror stories from tourists who have had unfortunate run-ins with the taxi mafia in Mexico, here are a few: 

🚩 A guy with an “official” taxi badge demanding more money 

“The taxi driver dropped my friend off at the wrong terminal and collect the full fare, then took me to the other terminal and demanded full payment again! “Double Service,” he said.

In hindsight, I should have never paid him. A man with an official-looking taxi badge approved and asked what the problem was. The guy told him “Double Service”, the guy seemed to agree, and off the driver goes. 

I figure out that this is not an airport taxi official this is just some guy from another corrupt taxi company!!” – from Jimmyglen on Tripadvisor.com

💡 Tip: It’s a common scam at Cancun Airport for someone to come up to you and tell you that you’re at the “wrong terminal” and pressure you to take a taxi with them to the correct one – don’t listen to them! There’s a free shuttle between airport terminals at Cancun Airport. 

🚩 Stolen luggage 

“I had a taxi driver there grab my luggage (I had a pre-paid shuttle waiting for me) and refuse to give it back until I paid him. I just started screaming. 

Police came, he assumed I didn’t speak Spanish and told them that I was trying to cheat him out of money. I replied back that I had a shuttle waiting and showed my receipt. 

They gave me back my luggage and I went on my way.” – from SeaOtterHummingbird on Reddit.com 

💡 Tip: Carry your own luggage through the airport, and don’t let anyone carry it for you unless they’re your driver. 

🚩 Charging per head for a ride instead of per car

“Taxis are the worst in Cancun! My 2 friends and I got a ride and they charged per head (they refused to allow just a normal one-way ride, it had to be charged per head).

So the 30-minute ride ended up being like $220 for 3 people. It was in a janky van that was falling apart and had bugs. 

To make it worse— once we got to the destination, the driver FORCED US TO TIP him 30% on top of the $220!! He got so aggressive about it, it was scary. We managed to talk him down to a 20% tip (which he completely undeserved), and he let us go.” – from bel_esprit on Reddit.com 

💡 Tip: Watch out for fake taxis, and always negotiate a price before you get in the car! 

Does Mexico Have Uber?

Uber and other ride-hailing apps like Didi are very popular in Mexico! Just not in popular tourist spots like Cozumel, Tulum, Cancun, and Playa del Carmen where the Taxi Mafia has pushed them out. I used Didi and Uber frequently when I was in less touristic cities in Mexico, like Merida, Oaxaca, and Mexico City. 

Tips for Taking Taxis in Mexico 

✔️ Negotiate a price upfront – Taxis in Mexico never want to run a meter for foreigners, and many cabs don’t even have one. You need to negotiate the total price before you get in the car. 

✔️ Know a little bit of Spanish – A little bit of Spanish goes a long way in Mexico! If you don’t know any Spanish you can download the Spanish language offline on the Google Translate App – it’s free! 

✔️ Prepare to pay more for tourist sites – Taking a Taxi to a tourist site like the Tulum ruins could be as little as 100 pesos. Taking a taxi from the Tulum Ruins will be 300, at least. Even though it’s the same distance, taxi drivers price gouge tourists coming from popular tourist locations because there aren’t many other taxis around. 

✔️ Arrange airport transportation beforehand – The Taxi Mafia in Mexico is the worst in the International airport arrivals terminal. There are countless stories online from travelers who had bad experiences with the Taxi Mafia at the airport and it sadly soured the rest of their trip. 

My top tip for traveling in Mexico is to always arrange your transportation to and from the airport ahead of time so you can avoid taxi scams. You can either do that by booking an ADO bus through BusBud.Com, or you can get a door-to-door drop off service from the airport to the hotel. 

✔️ Leave the bus stop to hail a taxi – The ADO bus is a very popular way to travel from one city in Mexico to another. Taxi drivers who line up right outside the bus stop charge much higher prices than taxi drivers a few feet down the road. You can save 50% of your taxi fare by just walking a few feet away! 

✔️ Don’t pay attention to the “official taxi menus” – When you arrive in a city like Cancun there will be a bunch of white taxis lining up outside with very formal-looking lists with set prices. Totally ignore these, taxi fares are negotiable in Mexico and they only show those price lists to tourists. 

✔️ Consider taking a Colectivo – If you’re just trying to get from point A to point B, consider taking a Colectivo. A Colectivo is a shared shuttle van in Mexico and there are a ton in the Mayan Riviera.

You’ll typically find them zipping down Highway 307, the main highway that runs through Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Cancun, carrying passengers between the cities.

Colectivos are very safe and easy to use. They’re informally run, so you hail them off of the street or go to the designated “Colectivo station” which is usually next to the ADO bus stop.