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Cancun taxi drivers intercept Ubers and demand tourists ride with them

Cancun, Q.R. — A group of taxi drivers were videoed Thursday night intercepting an Uber carrying a family of tourists. A group of Cancun taxi drivers from the Taxistas Cancún stopped the Uber driver in the roundabout at the intersection of Tulum and Coba Avenues.

The private car was transporting a family of four Russian tourists from Plaza Las Americas when it was reportadly intercepted by at least five Cancun taxis after chasing it from the Plaza.

Once the Uber car was stopped, the Cancun taxi drivers insisted the family, which included two young children, hire them to provide their transportation. Cancun police officers eventually arrived at the scene. Another passing Uber driver was one of several who videoed the incident.

The family declined the Cancun taxi driver’s offer, but instead, accepted a ride from a passing motorist who drove them to their destination.

On the afternoon of January 20, a second attack against an Uber user was reported. Cancun taxi drivers intercepted a family of national tourists who were waiting for their car outside their hotel in the Cancun Hotel Zone.

They offered the family the option to ride with them instead, but like the tourists the night before, they also declined the taxi driver’s offer. In response, a fight broke out between the Cancun taxi drivers and the Mexican family of tourists.

Police arrived and detained only two of the involved taxi drivers. They were gently lead away by the shoulder without being handcuffed. A public statement from the Taxistas Cancún regarding the recent conduct of their drivers has not been released. They have, however, released a statement justifying their aggressions against Uber drivers.

On January 11, a judge legalized Uber operating in the state, however, state officials have yet to create the new legislation necessary for the company to obtain the permits needed to provide their service since they are considered a private service, not public.

Until that happens, Uber operators who provide the rideshare service in Quintana Roo are considered to be illegal.