Roberto Villanueva stared into the rearview mirror of the taxi he was driving as he turned onto a side road towards Macuiltépetl, an ecological reserve on a mountain in central Xalapa. He has been driving a taxi here, the capital city of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, for 35 years, and has memorized most of the routes in the city.
“My memory is definitely muscular.” he joked.
That’s no small feat in Xalapa, a large, hilly city of some 750,000 people. Xalapa’s streets were developed centuries ago, before cars, and were full of sudden turns, unpredictable street renamings, and nine-way intersections. Taxi drivers are expert guides in this urban maze, providing public and private transport connections. While passing a hospital, Villanueva said that he regularly takes people there. Because in Xalapa, calling a taxi is usually much faster than calling an ambulance.
Taxi driver is a very important job for the people of this city, but the challenges of this job can cause many obstacles, as simple as navigating between its complex streets. Then the economy, the ongoing pandemic and the whims of local politicians continue to create a series of obstacles for drivers. And they overcame all of this, from behind the wheel of a Nissan Tsuru, which is primarily used as a taxi in Mexico and is also one of the most dangerous cars ever made.
Villanueva’s Tsuru stopped at the entrance to the Macuiltépetl Ecological Park. His passengers would pass coins through an opening in a plastic sheet – a makeshift virus barrier – and he would count them before responding with a quick nod over his shoulder. He would then follow another Tsuru taxi into a corner and out of sight, in search of the next passenger.
Meanwhile, hundreds of taxis were clustering around a traffic roundabout southwest of Xalapa. The site, known as Los Sauces, is one of the region’s main transit hubs. The roundabout and adjoining streets have bus stops, small shops and eateries, giving motorists the chance to get a quick bite of picaditas (toasted cornbread, a specialty in Vieracruz) while waiting for customers to arrive. . They’ll take passengers wherever they need to go, whether it’s somewhere else in the city, a remote mountain town, or even a completely different state.
The growing willingness to take longer journeys reflects how taxi driving is changing. Xalapa’s veteran drivers remember when the profession could support an entire family and make it possible for drivers to retire. Since the number of taxi licenses is limited, it means that when a driver leaves the profession, they can make a fortune passing their franchise to the next generation. But the glory days of driving a taxi are long gone. Lorena López, a sociologist working for the Mexican government who has studied taxi drivers in depth in Veracruz state, said it all ended with the 2004 election when former state governor Fidel Herrera Beltrán come to power.
The Beltrán government has essentially privatized the taxi-licensing process by allowing many businesses to sell taxi licenses to the public at a lower cost than the official government rate. It is a move the administration says will provide more jobs and stimulate the economy. As a result, the market is oversaturated. According to a government report, the total number of taxis in the state of Veracruz has increased from 17,000 to 75,000 in 20 years. That number has only increased since the report was published, thanks to factors such as cheaper incentives to meet competition from Uber and other app-based transportation services, Mr. López said. Today, Xalapa and surrounding towns have as many taxis as New York City – and less than one-tenth the population.
Much of the meager money that taxi drivers earn is consumed by daily expenses. Fares are set by the regional government, but are not regularly updated, most are under 100 pesos (equivalent to 5 USD). Gas prices are continuing to climb above $4 per gallon (about 3.7 liters), and most taxi drivers belong to the union, which will charge $10 to $15 a day just to use one. vehicle, plus membership fees. With a large number of drivers running in the city, “sometimes it will cost less to just stay at home and not work”said a driver named Arturo.
But for most drivers, not working is not an option and they will be on the road 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Eating on the go, not going to the bathroom, and barely sleeping means many drivers have high blood pressure and heart and kidney problems, according to López. Other occupational hazards include theft and even carjacking, standard risks for taxi drivers around the world. And beyond all these challenges, the Tsuru itself presents a unique danger of its own.
The Tsuru (“crane” in Japanese) is a small four-door sedan that was introduced to Mexico in 1984 and has remained essentially unchanged since 1991. It was designed with no bumper protection around the bumper. around, no airbags, no anti-lock brakes or stability control. This was a deliberate choice, in an apparent attempt to keep costs of sale low, thereby providing a higher percentage of the population with access to cars.
“Is Tsuru cheap? Yes. Reliable? Yes. Safe? No. of course”, driver named Oscar Ortega shared with a grim smile. He tapped the dashboard of his Tsuru, either as a token of gratitude or simply as a form of prayer, as he sped on a busy stretch of highway that curved around Xalapa.
Its reliability and ease of repair also helped Tsuru overtake the Volkswagen Beetle as the vehicle of choice for taxis in Mexico in the mid-1990s. Over 2.4 million Tsuru units were sold during its lifetime. its existence.
But in 2016, a crash test video showed a 2015 Tsuru confronting a 2016 Nissan Versa. The Tsuru exploded so violently that viewers felt sorry for the crash test dummy inside. . The Latin New Car Assessment Program (LNCAP), the consumer advocacy group that carried out the crash, awarded Tsuru a 0-star safety rating. They also provided data showing that more than 4,100 people died in Tsuru-related crashes in Mexico between 2012 and 2017.
Still, the auto industry’s historical importance to the Mexican economy prompted lawmakers to oppose the requirement to introduce stricter safety standards at the time. But according to Alejandro Furas, general secretary of the LNCAP, he feels that incredible crash test footage has helped propel the conversations forward. By the same day that LNCAP announced it would be doing crash tests with the Tsuru, Nissan said the infamous model would be discontinued in May 2017. Mr. Furas said it was too late, especially considering the ongoing How many taxis on the streets and highways of Mexico is Tsuru.
“Drivers are under pressure because they have to bring food home,” he said. Furas said. “Driving a taxi is a job, and having a safe workplace should be an important part of it.”
Around the same time, the state of Veracruz ordered no taxis older than 10 years old to operate. The Nissan Tsuru, last produced in 2017, will technically be illegal to use as a taxi in 2027.
The retirement of the Tsuru range means that a new chapter in the history of Xalapa’s taxi drivers will turn the page. Hopefully, this change will mean fewer drivers and passengers being injured or killed. But, upgrading to a safer vehicle will be a financial barrier for many. However, it can turn people away from the profession, reduce the number of drivers, and restore the balance between supply and demand.
Mauro Hernández Rodríguez, a mechanic in the city of Xalapeño, has a shop on Calle Lázaro Cárdenas. He assessed each vehicle as it passed, including several Nissan Marches and Chevy Sparks, which have emerged as the city’s next generation of taxis. But Hernández Rodríguez scoffed at these expensive cars for not being as impressive as they should be.
“Tsuru is a pack horse”, he said. “Other cars only work best when they’re going downhill!”
Most of the vehicles that pass Hernández Rodríguez’s store are Tsuru cars, half of which are taxis. And the highlight for the car cabins in Xalapa is that most of them carry some personal style to make the driver’s driving feel like home.
Across the city, motorists add flashing lights, family photos or figurines of saints. Some drivers even customize Batmobile handlebars for their vehicles. The personalization speaks to the driver’s love for Tsuru, as well as for their own work.
Villanueva and other drivers often talk about the sense of freedom their profession brings, especially on days when the sun is out, the windows can be lowered, and the traffic is steady. Tsuru taxis, like their drivers, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, except to roam their usual journeys around the city.
Refer atlasobscura