The director of the state mobility institute says three ride-hailing apps in Quintana Roo now operate legally, while Uber remains trapped in a years-long legal dispute with no resolution in sight.
For residents and visitors who rely on their phones to get around, the distinction carries weight. A driver working without the required license or insurance can be pulled from the road at any checkpoint, and the state says three to four vehicles are already being impounded every week.
Rafael Hernández Kotasek, director general of the Instituto de Movilidad del Estado de Quintana Roo (Imoveqroo), laid out the current picture in recent public remarks. Three platforms are operating under distinct regulatory arrangements, he said, and Uber sits apart from them, still bound by a court process that has not been settled.
Three ride-hailing apps in Quintana Roo now meet the paperwork
According to Hernández Kotasek, Didi, inDrive, and ITaxi have all submitted the documentation the state requires to operate. inDrive completed that step only a couple of months ago. ITaxi, he said, holds a strong presence concentrated mainly in the northern part of Quintana Roo, the corridor that runs through Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
The compliance he described is narrow and practical. The state wants each platform to account for its drivers and vehicles so that responsibility can be traced when something goes wrong. That framing sets up the difference between the three apps clearing the process and the one that has not.
Why Uber remains in a legal impasse
Uber's position is defined by an amparo, a court protection order the company filed several years ago. That injunction has never reached a definitive ruling, which leaves the platform in what Hernández Kotasek called an impasse.
He was careful not to describe the company as operating outside the law. "You could not say they are operating illegally because they hold an injunction, but we are waiting for the resolution to be favorable, above all so they can meet certain safety conditions," he said.
The unresolved status means Uber neither completes the documentation the other platforms have filed nor faces a clear order to stop. It simply waits, and so do its drivers.
What inspectors check at a stop
The enforcement operations verify two things, according to Hernández Kotasek: that the driver holds a license for the transport service, and that the vehicle carries valid insurance. A failure on either point triggers an administrative procedure, and the unit is towed to the impound lot.
He tied the requirements directly to passenger risk. "If a platform has an incident, we need to know who was driving, at what time, the license plates, and that insurance exists to protect the user," he said. "Imagine a person has an accident and has no coverage."
The institute frames the goal as protection rather than restriction. Hernández Kotasek said Imoveqroo does not aim to shrink the mobility options available to residents, only to guarantee that any service, digital platforms included, runs under conditions that shield the people using it.
Drivers' harassment complaints and the state's response
Some platform drivers have circulated complaints of alleged harassment by inspectors during the operations. Hernández Kotasek responded to those accounts by describing how the checks are staffed.
The reviews are carried out in coordination with the National Guard and, in most cases, with personnel from the Secretaría de Marina, he said. He characterized the operations as limited in scope, confined to the license and insurance checks rather than broader inspections. The state has not detailed how the harassment complaints are being reviewed, and drivers who raised them have not had their claims independently confirmed.
Operations that began with the Tulum Air Show
The timing gives the story a clear local marker. Hernández Kotasek said the checkpoints started around May, coinciding with the Air Show held in Tulum, which places the current campaign at roughly two months of continuous enforcement.
That window matters for a destination where visitors and workers lean heavily on ride-hailing to move between the beach zone, the town center, and the airport. Every impounded car is one fewer driver on the road during a period when demand around Tulum runs high.
For now, the pattern holds. Three platforms operate with their papers in order, Uber waits on a court, and a handful of vehicles leave the road each week until the amparo is resolved or the checkpoints wind down.
Have you had a ride-hailing trip canceled or delayed in Tulum during these operations? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.