Taxis in Mexico

Mexico City’s government recently launched a program to relicense all of the capital’s 35,000 taxis.  The program was implemented to improve the safety and quality of taxi services in the city, principally by weeding-out the so-called ‘pirate’ taxis: vehicles painted as cabs but without proper licensing or insurance.

The scheme issued official taxi drivers with new license cards: laminated showing a photograph of the driver as well as some new security features, including a hologram.   The re-licensed vehicles are issued with a brand-new plate, always beginning with one letter followed by five numbers.

Taxi fares in Mexico City are inexpensive in comparison to some other capital cities around the world.   Taxi meters have five bands, depending on the type of taxi and what time of day you are traveling.

Meters on street cabs in the capital begin with a fee of about MX$7 pesos (US$0.60) and charge an incremental fee of between MX$4 and MX$6 (US$0.30 – 0.50) per km traveled, or per 45 second waiting time when the vehicle is stationary.  Meters on taxi rank cabs and taxi co-operatives begin with a fee of about MX$13 (US$1.20) and charge an incremental fee of around MX$11 (US$1.00) per km traveled, or per 45 second waiting time.

The most expensive cabs in Mexico are the ones you hire from the airport, as well as private cabs directly affiliated to hotels.  They charge a set rate per km and the rate varies widely.   It’s best to agree your price or inquire about the rate per km beforehand when you hire a private taxi.

Frequent visitors to the capital, especially business travelers, are beginning to ask cabbies from taxi ranks for a ‘daily’ or ‘hourly’ rate: so that on days when they have to do a lot of moving around through the city, they have a car and driver on hand.  You will absolutely need to speak good Spanish and know the capital in order to negotiate this type of arrangement.   However, the benefits are significant: you get a driver who will know the roads and it’s less expensive than getting a rental car for the day.

Outside of Mexico City, the taxi scene is much less formal, and the color and type of cabs roaming the streets varies enormously.  Most of the taxis in the provinces operate on a government-regulated ‘zone’ system, whereby you pay a fare depending on the zone you travel to. It is generally regarded as safe to flag a street cab in Mexico’s provincial towns and cities, although you will need to be able to speak Spanish.

You can get detailed information about the types of cabs in Mexico City as well as the provinces on our comprehensive Guide to Traveling by Taxi in Mexico.  Additionally, our Mexico Taxi Fares page is updated annually and gives you a good estimated cost of taxi travel in Mexico.