Cancun Employee Transport Hit by 35% Insurance Hike and Driver Shortage

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Rising fuel prices, a 35% increase in insurance premiums and a persistent shortage of drivers are straining the staff transportation industry serving Cancún and the Riviera Maya, according to Roberto Padilla Delgado, general director of LIPU Cancún.

LIPU Cancún, which transports about 30,000 tourism workers a day in the northern part of Quintana Roo, operates 800 vehicles in low season and up to 900 in high season. Its routes serve 72 hotels from Costa Mujeres to Tulum.

Padilla said the region’s strict hotel shifts require uninterrupted service. In Cancún’s Hotel Zone alone, the company manages 14 to 16 arrivals and departures daily, starting at 4:30 a.m. and continuing into the early morning. Even when hotel occupancy drops, those routes remain active.

“Hotels may have fewer people, but the entries and exits still happen. We measure occupancy when a vehicle is full and when it’s at 60% or 70%, but ultimately those trips still have to be made,” Padilla said.

To deal with the driver shortfall, transportation companies have introduced continuous training, talent-retention programs, improved working conditions, optimized rest schedules, and preventive maintenance systems with telemetry.

Padilla estimated that the proposed federal move to reduce the workweek to 40 hours would raise transport operators’ costs by 5% to 6%. He said hotels would face a greater burden.

“For us, the impact will be between 5% and 6%, no more. It’s not the same as what hotels will have to deploy to cover all the services they provide,” he said.

LIPU Cancún expects to resume hiring in the coming months to prepare for the year-end high season.