Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The state of Quintana Roo is in the process of a major change in how public transport is managed. Quintana Roo is doing away with transit officers to curb corruption and putting off public transportation fare increases for the time being.
An increase in public transportation rates around the state will be delayed until at least next year. Authorities say they will consider a price hike once the new Mobi system has been put into place.
The new mobility system (Mobi – Sistema de Movilidad del Bienestar Quintanarroense) for the state will ensure buses with schedules and see transit officers eliminated and replaced by a digital system.
The move is being made due to the high incidences of corruption reported by both residents and tourists. Places such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum are frequently singled out by drivers for their corrupt transit officers.
“We cannot continue to bear the stigma of having the most corrupt traffic police in the country where 81 percent of people feel distrust and are tired of having to negotiate in the streets… tired of extortion and abuses that hurt the dignity of everyone,” Governor Lezama said last month when announcing the new system.
“There will be no increase in public transportation fares until conditions allow for it,” she said. “No price increases are planned for urban transportation services until conditions guarantee an improvement in the transportation system,” she said referring to the state’s new Mobi system.
In November, Governor Lezama announced, along with the Quintana Roo Mobility Institute (Imoveqroo), the Quintana Roo Welfare Mobility System or MOBI. The new mobility system will provide residents with access to modern and dignified vehicles, fair fares with digital payment, organized routes and reliable schedules.
Rafael Hernández Kotasek, the Director of Imoveqroo, said in its first stage (2025–2027), Mobi will begin with an integrated bus network in Chetumal, Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Playa del Carmen with a direct impact on 1.5 million residents.
The new system will include the elimination of the Transit Officer position, making Quintana Roo the first state in the country to do so.
To guarantee safety and prevent corruption, Governor Mara Lezama announced that Quintana Roo will be the first state in the country to eliminate the figure of Transit Officer to give way to Mobility Agents, professional, trained women and men who operate without direct contact to sanction and without opportunity to negotiate.
Authorities have since sent a series of initiatives to the State Congress to provide legal support for this new mobility model. Once the new Mobi system is up and running, public transportation prices could increase.
Last week, Hernández Kotasek confirmed that also includes taxi fares. Taxi drivers around the state have been asking for approval for a fare increase for more than a year, however, that won’t happen until the regulatory framework for public passenger transport is updated in 2026.
Riviera Maya News serving Quintana Roo Mexico since 2014
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