Cancún, QR - Uber has officially rolled out Uber Reserve at Cancún International Airport, letting domestic and international visitors lock in a taxi ride up to 30 days before arrival. The new option, enabled through a partnership with Flex Eco Taxi, is pitched as a way to cut the chaos that often greets travelers stepping off planes in one of Mexico’s busiest resort gateways.
Travelers using the feature simply enter their flight number and arrival date in the Uber app. Once the plane lands, a one-click confirmation within the app signals readiness, and the assigned driver—alerted via their phone—moves to the app’s designated meeting point. Uber says the flow is designed to reduce waiting, eliminate on-the-spot fare haggling, and help tourists avoid long lines or confrontations that have marred airport pickups in the past.
“Cancún is our calling card to much of the world, and that's why we want all tourists who come to us to have the best possible experience,” said Juan Pablo Eiroa, general manager of Uber Mexico.
The rollout comes against a backdrop of recurring friction between Uber and traditional taxi operators in Quintana Roo. For years, unions such as the Sindicato de Taxistas “Andrés Quintana Roo” have accused ride-hailing platforms of creating unfair competition, leading to protests, blockades, and localized confrontations that sometimes spilled into public safety alerts.
Those disputes have had real consequences for arriving tourists. Reports in mid-2025 detailed clashes and harassment around transportation pickups at the airport, with Uber drivers alleging interference and intimidation by other operators. Travelers have been caught in the crossfire, sometimes forced to walk long distances or sidestep confrontation to secure the ride they booked.
Local coverage and travel commentary have noted that the confusion and pressure on arriving visitors—combined with the high cost of some traditional airport taxis—pushed many to seek alternative pickup strategies, including meeting Uber drivers off-site after avoiding the main curb areas.
Uber frames the new Reserve taxi option as a maturity of its presence in Cancún, a city the company calls a priority. The platform noted that taxi-type vehicles have been part of its offerings in recent years, including at the airport, expanding the mix of transportation choices inside the app.
A U.S. travel outlet that follows local developments described the launch as promising but cautioned that past tensions mean the real test will be how smoothly the system works in practice and whether the advance booking truly shields tourists from the recurring curbside friction.
Uber Reserve’s advantage for tourists is clear: predictable pricing, a confirmed pickup, and fewer interactions with aggressive solicitations or on-the-ground bargaining. For a city whose economy leans heavily on its reputation as a seamless vacation gateway, reducing that first arrival scramble can mean a more positive first impression and, potentially, better downstream reviews and repeat visits.
Still, transportation dynamics in Cancún remain delicate. Historical flashpoints—such as the early 2023 protests and blockades by taxi drivers protesting Uber’s operating status—underscore how volatile the space has been when competition is perceived as undercutting established interests.
The new feature could also serve as a pressure valve by giving tourists a clear, app-mediated alternative that bypasses many of the informal gatekeeping tactics previously reported at the airport. Observers of the local scene have pointed out that when visitors can show a confirmed digital reservation, it may reduce ambiguity and give both drivers and passengers a shared reference point, limiting opportunistic interference. (Inference based on how advance reservations reduce friction in contested pickup zones.)
Uber’s expansion of taxi-style services in Cancún, now including the Reserve option, comes as the region continues to balance the economic benefits of high-volume tourism with the entrenched interests of legacy transport providers. The company’s messaging emphasizes convenience and certainty for travelers, while local taxi unions remain vocal about competitive pressures.
For tourists landing in Cancún, the new Uber Reserve taxi reservation could mean one less thing to worry about: a ride waiting, no bargaining at the curb, and a cleaner transition from runway to resort. Whether it also eases the broader tensions on the ground will depend on how consistently the system works and how both sides respond to a more formalized, pre-booked arrival flow.
Uber Reserve, Cancún airport transportation, Flex Eco Taxi, tourist arrivals, taxi app conflict, Andrés Quintana Roo union, advance booking, ride-hailing, travel convenience
