Tulum Taxi Union to Launch Digital App With Fixed Fares and Schedules

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Taxi drivers in this coastal city are preparing to launch a digital platform that will list fixed fares and schedules for shared-ride services, a move they say will reduce arbitrary charges by drivers.

The “Tiburones del Caribe” taxi union expects the app to go live within a month, union Secretary General Manuel Solís said. The organization is developing the mobile application with Fly Wheels, a California-based company, as the first phase of a project that will eventually include prepaid card payments.

Solís noted that ride-hailing platforms of this kind originated in California about two decades ago and have since gained wide adoption across Mexico, including in Quintana Roo.

The app will have four service categories: intercity shared vans, local shared vans, standard taxis and “pink taxis” — the women-only service. Shared-ride listings will include departure times, and every category will display the applicable fare.

Drivers will also use the GPS units already installed in their intercity vans to broadcast their real-time location, allowing passengers to time their arrival at pickup points instead of waiting on the roadside.

“The fare will be included, with no margin for error, reducing cases of drivers charging discretionary amounts,” Solís said.

He added that the app should be available on Google Play within 10 days, followed by the Apple App Store. “At most, the app would be finished within a month,” he said.

The union leader also confirmed that over the past two weeks shared-ride vehicles — both local and intercity — have been standardized, with drivers wearing uniforms and all vehicles required to display fare charts. The charts, which are not new, include QR codes linking to a webpage with more detailed rates.