Un Tranquilo Refugio en el PaZIHfico

Who issues taxi car licenses? The city? Who sets the taxi cab rates? If there are too many taxis and Uber is added, this diminishes the amount of money per cab driver. Will Uber vehicles need taxi licenses or can any just get a Uber franchise and offer their services. Who determines whether an Uber car and driver meet any standards. Will women be guaranteed no Uber driver has a sexual assault charge? Will cartelish people move in and muscle out the taxis?

All good questions. I like the overall concept of Uber - basically an upgraded, 21st century, high-tech version of the basic cab business. But I detest their business model - storm a city, strongarm the local government into giving them concessions, then drive the local companies out of business while paying their drivers bupkis. I've never taken an Uber and don't plan on doing so.

Regarding you comment “This could help make local taxi prices come down and be more competitive. Locally we have over 600 taxis authorized to work in Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa. Too many.” Who issues taxi car licenses? The city? Who sets the taxi cab rates? If there are too many taxis and Uber is added, this diminishes the amount of money per cab driver. Will Uber vehicles need taxi licenses or can any just get a Uber franchise and offer their services. Who determines whether an Uber car and driver meet any standards. Will women be guaranteed no Uber driver has a sexual assault charge? Will cartelish people move in and muscle out the taxis? I have read people stating the taxi rates here are high compared to other tourist spots. I am also informed rent is higher here.

If I had passed grade 12 mathematics I would have studied economics. Alas I was granted 50% on the basis my new job as a black jack dealer required minimal mathematics.

Taxi concessions are issued by state authorities. Supposedly they do an "economic study" to determine the need for new concessions before issuing them, but once you've lived here and paid attention long enough you quickly see what BS that is. We've had too many taxi drivers for decades, and that's why they've blocked vehicles driven by federally licensed drivers who pick up and drop off passengers to the airport for decades even though federally licensed drivers are authorized to do so. To this day they still have to pay a bribe to taxi unions because the courts won't do their jobs and tell them they can't. It's a mess, and I'm pretty sure the first Uber driver to try to pick up or drop off anyone at the airport will find their vehicle in flames before the next sunrise, so it's not a service I can recommend at the moment.

You've only to follow the news in Acapulco and Chilpancingo to see who's running things here. But our Congreso Nacional is passing a new severe anti-extortion law, of course, they had to rewrite a section so that politicians who get caught committing extortion get lesser sentences before they could pass it. Still, it's progress. Maybe someday locals will once again feel confident to answer phone calls from unknown numbers, but we're not there yet. Oh, you all probably don't know about that. Well, now you do.