Changes to Bus Stops on Tulum-Playa del Carmen Route Anger Unions

Tulum, Quintana Roo — A reconfiguration of bus stops on the city’s main avenue has sparked anger among transport unions and frustration among passengers on the route connecting Tulum with Playa del Carmen.

Moisés Paul Quijano, general secretary of UNTRAC Section II, said at least two stops along Avenida Tulum were removed under the stated goal of easing traffic congestion and improving traffic flow. Drivers initially accepted the change, he said, but are now objecting after learning that a rival union, Tiburones del Caribe, plans to use the vacated spaces for its own local minibuses.

“The reason we stopped providing service on the main avenue was supposedly to avoid traffic congestion, and we accepted that at the time,” Quijano said. “But now we have found out that the Tiburones del Caribe union wants to use those spaces as stops for its local vehicles. We are not going to allow that.”

Quijano said he has been in contact with members of the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río Section 13 union in Playa del Carmen, which operates the route jointly with his organization, to coordinate a joint response.

He called on Tulum’s municipal authorities, particularly the transportation department and the mayor’s office, to intervene and negotiate with the unions that have provided service on the route for years. Decisions should not be made unilaterally to benefit a single union, he said.

“If we were told to leave those stops because they caused traffic jams, then why are they now going to put local vans there?” he asked.

The relocation has also created inconvenience for riders, who now have to walk several extra blocks to find a place to board a bus toward Playa del Carmen. Unions are asking the city to review the distribution of stops and find a solution that preserves traffic flow without limiting passengers’ access to public transport.