They have clear rules for motorcycle taxis to operate in Cancun

On June 20, 2022, three high school youths left school and assaulted a motorcycle taxi driver in the Paseos del Mar neighborhood, in Cancún. Although the police later stopped them, it became clear that this trade did not even exist in the law and that none of these drivers was recognized by the authorities.

Months later, in October, motorcycle taxi drivers made headlines when they began to be threatened by taxi drivers from the Andrés Quintana Roo union for winning their passage. They threatened them with death, they accused, so they went to protest at the Municipal Palace.

To bring order, work began between all the authorities until last week the State Congress legislated on the matter. With a modification to the Mobility Law, the figure of the “motorcycle taxi driver” was recognized for the first time in Quintana Roo.

The deputies made it clear that the motorcycle taxi service “may be operated by a natural or legal person who must have a permit granted by the Quintana Roo Mobility Institute, and whose service will be limited to popular neighborhoods, rural communities, to through local or tertiary roads determined by Imoveqroo, in accordance with the urban planning instruments in force in each municipality”.

And ready. With the recognition of the law, motorcycle taxi drivers can now legally operate in the state.

The news pleased the drivers, who claimed to feel protected.

I feel calm

The motorcycle taxi driver Israel Villegas said that it makes him calmer to work and know that he has the support of the state government.

“One, I feel calmer because there is no way to work within the law and ultimately this is a very noble source of work and in some way this helps us regulate many things that are found in this type of service. It cannot be regulated directly if we are not within all these regulations, so I am totally in favor of it”, he said.

José Venancio, another motorcycle taxi driver from Cancun, indicated that being within the law seems perfect to him, since his work is finally recognized.

“I have been working here for nine months and it seems viable that everything be regulated by law and there is a lot of competition. More than anything, taxi drivers see us with a bad image and now with the backing of the government, since we are recognized as public transport, I feel calm, ”he said.

are registered

At the beginning of January 2023, a census also began to find out how many motorcycle taxi drivers there are in Quintana Roo. They did not even know how many of them were operating in the 11 municipalities and order had to be established there as well.

Although there is no exact figure yet, it is believed that only in Cancun there are about 4,500, but this will be known when the census concludes in February.

The motorcycle taxi driver Israel Villegas also indicated that he agreed with the census, which requires that the units be in good condition. He said that, in this way, the partners and drivers of the motorcycle taxis will be much more careful and offer a higher quality service.

He claimed that many of his fellow motorcycle taxi drivers do not want to participate in the census, which he described as unfair, because while many have followed a guideline, others seem to have no intention of doing so.

THEY PUT ORDER TO DELIVERY MOTORS

The modifications to the Mobility Law also included delivery drivers, mainly those who work through applications such as Rappi, Uber Eats or DiDi Food.

Its service was recognized in article 82 as a “figure of the private transportation service of distribution and proceedings.” However, it is still pending to define what will be the percentage that will be charged for each delivery they make. The initial proposal is 2%, but due to the refusal of these companies, it has not been possible to reach an agreement.

“It is a pleasant feeling, since his work as such had not been taken into account. Yes, there was talk of ‘I’m going to order a rappi, Uber Eats or DiDi’, but that was the point. There is already a world behind all this. With what happened in Congress, I hope that legal recognition will help us delivery people, since it is thought that it is easy to be a delivery person, but there are many things behind delivering the product to the customer,” said David, 21, which has been in business for eight months.

Within the changes that were made in Congress, it is indicated that the public security elements will be able to help in the tasks of verifying the delivery drivers.

“As long as the authority does not behave aggressively or corruptly, I will have no problem stopping for a minute to show what I have in my backpack, since the one who owes nothing fears nothing, but it also depends a lot on the treatment of public safety and how to request the things,” he said.

WHAT DID THE DEPUTIES APPROVE?

• The figures of “motorcycle taxi driver” and “motor delivery driver” are recognized in the Mobility Law.

• The circulation of motorcycle taxis is strictly prohibited in areas classified as hotel or tourist, insular or primary avenues.

• Motorcycle taxis and delivery drivers must have a permit issued by Imoveqroo.

• The service will be limited to low-income neighborhoods and rural communities, through local or tertiary channels.

• It will not be necessary for the delivery drivers to be part of any union, although they must comply with the minimum requirements regarding the storage drawer.

• Both motorcycle taxis and delivery drivers must endorse their respective permits within the first quarter of each year.

• Public Security is empowered to check them both.