Playa del Carmen to Revamp Transport After Bus Incident

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The municipal government of Playa del Carmen is preparing to present a comprehensive mobility plan next year aimed at renewing the city's urban transportation system. The initiative follows a recent incident involving a bus from the transport company Tucsa, in which the vehicle's rear axle detached.

Mayor Estefanía Mercado Asencio expressed significant concern over the state of public transport, attributing the current challenges to years of neglect by previous local administrations. She clarified that a full-scale renewal of the transport fleet cannot proceed until the new mobility plan is finalized and presented, a process targeted for the coming year.

“This study will allow us to make better decisions next year (…) next year, what our people deserve is public transportation. What was witnessed yesterday is the result of many years of abandonment where the necessary determinations were not made,” said Mercado Asencio.

The Tucsa Operation

Since its establishment as the municipality of Solidaridad, Playa del Carmen's urban transport service has been operated by the company Tucsa. The company is a mercantile society whose partners include members of the Lázaro Cárdenas taxi union, ejidatarios (communal landowners) from Playa del Carmen, and some of the locality's original pioneers.

Notably, Tucsa does not hold a formal concession to operate. Its service is provided based on a verbal, consensual agreement renewed with each successive local administration.

A Pending Legal Resolution

The legal status of the transport service remains unresolved. Last year, Tucsa sought an injunction (amparo) for the formal granting of a concession, arguing that it had been granted one when Playa del Carmen was still under the administrative jurisdiction of Cozumel. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), which ultimately declined to rule on the matter.

The Need for a Strategic Plan

Mayor Mercado Asencio emphasized that the mobility study is a critical prerequisite for any major investment in public transport, stating it is needed to identify the most congested areas and pinpoint where services are most required.

“We need the study because a major investment in public transportation cannot be made if we do not have a clear understanding of which areas are the most heavily trafficked and where the need is greatest. In this sense, the study is underway so that the government can make the best decisions based on its findings,” explained Mercado Asencio.

The urgency for action was highlighted on Monday when images circulated online of a Tucsa bus with its rear axle detached in the Nicte-Ha neighborhood. While no injuries were reported as the bus was carrying no passengers at the time, the incident reignited public debate over the pressing need to modernize the city's public transportation infrastructure.