The few kilometers that separate the Cancun Airport from the Mayan Train station can be more expensive than traveling for around six hours and almost 500 kilometers between Cancun and Campeche, if you opt for the service of one of the authorized taxis that offers that service.
A trip of less than 10 kilometers can cost a traveler between 800 and 1,700 pesos if the transportation service is hired from some of the four terminals in Cancun.
With tariffs in dollars, service providers “estimate” how much to charge to Cancún, the station from which the first trips of the Mayan Train will depart and arrive.
In a visit carried out by Expansión Política, it was found that their tabulators do not yet have the railway station located practically behind the airport as a frequent destination.
“As we consider by zones, I wouldn’t know which zone the Mayan Train would be in,” says one of the young people who offers the service in Terminal 4 of the Airport. “It would be Moon Palace”, and for that journey of around 7.5 kilometers they charge 85 dollars, which in Mexican pesos is 1,461 pesos. That is if you travel by taxi, but if you opt for a Van, the price rises to 130 dollars (2,234 pesos).
The cost of transportation to the Mayan Train station may be more expensive than the ticket for the new transportation system itself. To travel from Cancun to Campeche in tourist class, the cost is 1,166 pesos and in premier class it is 1,862 pesos; The tour lasts around five hours.
Ground transportation in Cancun is not economical. As Quintana Roo is a destination visited by around 20 million tourists a year, and more than 65% foreigners, several services are offered in dollars.
From Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen the cost amounts to 120 dollars (2,063 pesos), to the hotel zone 85 dollars (1,461 pesos), to Puerto Morelos 98 dollars (1,685 pesos), to Tulum 220 (3,782 pesos).
The high price of transportation has caused long lines at car rentals. For what you pay for a 10-kilometer journey, you can rent a private car for up to two days.
The service providers themselves recognize the high price, but say that there is no other option for transportation.
“The prices here are a little high, but they are standard, all companies handle them. I ask clients: do I speak to them in US dollars, Canadian dollars or pesos,” said another of the transportation service providers.
The Cancun station of the Mayan Train is located on Highway 180 and a few kilometers from the International Airport. Until next December 30, it will function as the terminal of the Mayan Train, since on December 31, President López Obrador has promised that he will extend the route to Palenque, Chiapas.
Until now, there is no other way to get to the Mayan Train station in Cancun other than by taxi, as there are no buses that take you to this new transportation system.
In Campeche, the transfer time from the airport to the central area of the municipality does not last more than 25 minutes. The transfer time from the airport to the Mayan Train station does not exceed 10 minutes. Although the distances and times are different, for both cases the fare is 200 pesos.
“I receive more money from the trips I make to the towns here than from the short trips from the airport to the center. I am worried that with the train I will only be left with trips of no more than 30 minutes, because those are not as convenient for me as long trips,” says Pedro Cuman, a taxi driver in the capital San Francisco de Campeche, while driving through the streets without traffic.
But the situation is different for Carlos Canúl, who has been driving his Tsuru taxi in Campeche since he was a teenager. During the days around the inauguration, he made between 5 and 6 trips on average daily to the station. Canúl says that he works with several hotels in the center and that these days he has been bringing people who would be in charge of supervising the railway product.
In addition to the trips to the station, he assures that several people who get on ask him about the Train, so he hopes that the train will bring more people to Campeche and encourage tourism in the entity.
“It will bring more tourism, because right or wrong, it is something new, something new that is going to be implemented here in the city,” he considers.
Source: Expansion
