Quintana Roo Taxis Required to Add GPS and Surveillance Cameras Under Security Push

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Taxis across Quintana Roo will be required to carry video surveillance cameras and GPS devices that allow real-time tracking, part of the state’s broader security strategy, the head of the state Public Security Department (SSC) said.

Rear Admiral Julio César Gómez Torres said the requirement lets authorities monitor vehicles from the command center and is designed to protect both drivers and passengers, speed up emergency response and help rebuild public confidence in taxi service.

“The challenge is to keep expanding video surveillance in the state, to have cameras everywhere, and that is why we are also working with the taxi unions so they install these devices in their units themselves,” Gómez Torres said. “We monitor them from the command center and know their location in real time by sharing it with C5, which helps with security and lets us know quickly where any risk situation is developing so we can act immediately. It is part of this security strategy we are implementing across the state.”

Phased rollout already under way

Taxis in the state will have to comply with the requirement to renew their concessions starting in 2027. Gómez Torres said officials are coordinating with all taxi unions to speed up installation of equipment linked to the C5 Security Complex. So far about 300 vehicles in Tulum and Cancún have the devices.

“It is moving forward in phases. In Tulum there are more than 120 units that already have GPS and cameras that can be seen at C5, and in Cancún there are also more than 100 vehicles that already have the cameras,” he said. “The real challenge for public transport is to make people feel safe while using technology. It is a service they provide, and the faster they move forward, the better their offering will be compared with other options and the more they can recover the market they have been losing. But we are working so that every municipality does the same.”

Officials added that linking taxis to C5, together with an emergency button available in a mobile app or installed physically inside the vehicle, will make it easier for users to immediately report an emergency taking place inside a taxi. They said they are confident the strategy will spread to all municipalities and that the unions will adopt it.