Protection of Uber, opportunity for platforms

The protection that Uber won, which allows it to operate in Cancun, must be the precedent for all prohibitions for digital mobility platforms to end both at airports and in the states of the country that still have restrictive transport laws on innovation.

Since its appearance in the transport market, mobility platforms such as Uber have not been able to operate freely and calmly in Cancun, one of the main tourist destinations in Mexico.

The unions and mafias of taxi drivers in this tourist destination are especially aggressive and violent against Internet platforms, underhanded and supported by unions and local political groups.

Those who have traveled to Cancun or the Riviera Maya know that the prices of traditional taxis that transport tourists or business travelers are excessive and the service poor.

Relatively short trips from the Cancun International Airport, or from the hotels of that tourist destination (also in collusion with taxi drivers), are a real robbery.

Now, in addition, taxi drivers are once again violent against Uber users and drivers, because the platform obtained an injunction from the Third Collegiate Court of the Twenty-seventh Circuit, which allows it to operate in Quintana Roo.

The amparo is relevant because it stipulates that the way of working through digital platforms does not fall under the provisions of the local transport law, since they are a private service and not public transport, so they cannot be licensed or regulated. like traditional taxis.

And it is that the Mobility Law of the State of Quintana Roo is contradictory. On the one hand, it recognizes “the human right to mobility”, the effective movement of individuals “by means of the different modes of transport” and “guarantees the power of choice” that allows the effective movement of people “in conditions of safety, quality , equality and sustainability”.

The legislation also states that “the provision of the public transport service contracted through technological or digital platforms will require a concession” from the Quintana Roo State Mobility Institute, which never happened in the case of Cancun.

The court ruled that “the transportation laws in Quintana Roo are unconstitutional and cannot be applied to Uber, since it is a private and not a public service.”

The resolution of the Collegiate Court mentions that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has already ruled on the matter, establishing that the transport platforms are different from the public taxi service, therefore they cannot be regulated by granting concessions.

The ruling specifies that there must be a regulation for digital transport platforms.

Uber began operations in Quintana Roo in 2016, but due to attacks by taxi driver unions and political prohibitions against the platform, it stopped its operation. In 2018 it returned, but without being able to operate at the federal jurisdiction airport or in the hotel zone.

Despite the artificial restrictions on the operation of platforms such as DiDi, Uber or Cabify in the country’s airports (including Cancun or Guadalajara), in reality there is no express legal prohibition for them to provide the service in the air terminals in Mexico.

Recently, the senator of Movimiento Ciudadano, Marco Antonio Gama, presented an initiative to adapt the laws of Airports and Federal Roads, Bridges and Motor Transport to regulate the operation of mobility platforms. The proposal would allow transport apps to provide the service through a permit granted by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport.

After the protection against Uber was made known, the taxi drivers threatened to block roads, highways, the hotel zone of Cancun, the airport and other tourist destinations of the entity to prevent the return of Uber, but above all affecting the right to the mobility of people.

The United States embassy in Mexico issued an alert for its citizens traveling or intending to travel to Cancun. He noted that due to the confrontation between taxi drivers and Uber drivers, some incidents have turned violent, “resulting in injuries to US citizens in some cases.”

Taxis in Cancun do not use a meter and charge discretionary high rates for short trips. On the other hand, mobility platforms such as DiDi or Uber are transparent with users in terms of the distances to travel and the rates, in addition to being much cheaper.

A total of 19.6 million international tourists arrive at the Cancun airport. Domestic travelers represent approximately 10.7 million people a year.

The president of the Government and Political Coordination Board of the Quintana Roo Congress and coordinator of the Green Party, Renán Sánchez Tajonar, acknowledged that Uber has no prohibition to operate in the state.

He announced that as of February 15, when the second regular session of the local Congress begins, the reform proposals will be made to the Quintana Roo Mobility Law, to include the operating rules of the platforms.

Digital mobility platforms are safe, accessible, flexible and cheaper than traditional taxis, in addition to being widely accepted by users. They do not represent unfair competition but are complementary to other modes of transport and allow people to exercise their free right to mobility.

Users have the right to choose which mode of transportation to use to travel in Cancun and any other destination or city in Mexico. Transport and mobility regulations, federal for airports and local in each entity, must allow once and for all the operation of the platforms, guarantee certainty to innovation and business models and not be discriminatory.

Twitter: @beltmondi