Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Contrary to statements by the city’s mobility director, the company that operated Playa del Carmen’s bike-share system did notify the municipal government in advance before withdrawing the service, according to official documents.
Promotora de Reordenamiento Urbano, the concessionaire for the city’s parking meters and shared bicycles, submitted a formal notice on Feb. 5, 2026, to the Secretariat of Territorial Planning, addressed directly to Mobility Director Juan Carlos Tun Centeno. The letter, numbered PROMOURB/003/2026, explained the reasons for ending the bike-share service that was part of concession HAS-OM-LRP-001-2018.
Days earlier, when questioned about the disappearance of the bicycles, Tun Centeno had said authorities only learned the units had been removed after the fact.
The notice included a timeline for the gradual withdrawal of the bicycles and the mobile app used to operate the system.
The situation has raised questions because the concession was originally approved by the Playa del Carmen City Council and later ratified by the Congress of Quintana Roo, as the contract extends beyond a single municipal administration’s term.
The concession title itself lists possible grounds for termination and penalties for noncompliance. Paragraph seven of section 14 states that extinction may occur when “the object of the concession becomes impossible to carry out.” The contract also allows for revocation if obligations are not met or if services are provided irregularly and deficiencies are not corrected within 30 calendar days.
City council members have not said whether they were officially informed of the decision to remove the bike-share system or whether they will consider penalties or modifications to the concession.
The case also raises questions about service continuity, as the concession grants exclusivity to the current company, preventing another firm from offering a similar system while the concession remains in effect.
Despite the documentation, Tun Centeno previously stated there would be no penalties for the company, arguing it had merely notified the city about the bike removal.
