The federal government has outlined a possible solution to the problem of ride-hailing app taxis at Mexico City International Airport (AICM): to add public transportation to and from the terminals that will take users to a special, yet-to-be-determined site, where they can take a ride-hailing service like Uber. In an interview, Rodrigo Ríos, leader of the Collective Movement of Platform Drivers, stated that they are working with the government to find a solution. How will the new bays at the AICM work? 'They are trying to provide solutions where they will create bays in a specific terminal area for us to pick up passengers there; they will facilitate customers with public transport to get from the terminal to the bays so they can take their Uber,' Ríos revealed. The possible solution was communicated by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) to ride-hailing drivers, but it is still under analysis. The legal discussion over free transit and restrictions in the federal zone has escalated on numerous occasions, as licensed taxi drivers accuse platforms of not complying with regulations, while ride-hailing companies argue they have favorable court rulings allowing them to operate at the AICM. Ride-hailing taxis can drop off passengers at the AICM without any consequences, but they cannot pick up passengers from either of its two terminals. In fact, apps cannot initiate trips from any airport terminal in the country. Apps await regulation at the AICM before the World Cup. Airport sources said the AICM is preparing 'a space' for platform drivers to offer their services in the vicinity of the two terminals, but its location and whether this solution will be ready for the World Cup have not yet been defined. They added that the ride-hailing drivers agree with the government's alternative, as drivers continue to be detained by the National Guard, even though Uber says it has an amparo (a type of legal protection) for its drivers.
