Taxis - Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Finding a taxi is seldom difficult anywhere in Juarez. You will find cab stands at hotels, in parks, and in front of every major shopping area in the city. On Avenida Juarez they line both sides of the street and can be found at the end of Avenida Juarez on 16 de Septiembre. There is no need to call anyone to find a taxi cab. Just find a busy street, and if you do not see a cab stand, just wait a few minutes and flag one down.

Unless they are there from El Paso, all of the taxis I have seen in Juarez are white and green. None of the taxis are metered. Most of the drivers away from downtown do not speak more than a token amount of English.

If you will follow the Do’s and Don’t below, however, you will find getting around by taxi in Juarez is both easy and much less expensive than riding them in an American city.

• DO know where you are going, meaning having an exact address or intersection coordinates. Best of all, have the directions written down on a piece of paper so there is no doubt about where you are going.
• DO settle on a price before you even bother to get in the car.
• DON’T be afraid to say “No Gracias” if they price sounds too high, especially where there are plenty of taxis.
• DON’T count on the driver to get you someplace by saying “steak house by the bridge” or anything vague, unless you are willing to go along with his recommendations. (This is not always a bad idea, by the way. Just be sure you really want to let him recommend a restaurant for you.)
• DON’T take a taxi either from El Paso to Juarez or vice versa. The charge is astronomical ($35-50) because of the hour the driver will lose sitting on the bridge to either get into or come back to the U.S.
• DO try to get an hourly rate if you just want to sight see. $15 an hour would be a good deal. Most of the drivers will try to shy away from such an arrangement, however. But you can persuade one to accept it if you keep looking.
  DO relax once you have worked out an arrangement with the driver. I have never had a single problem with any of the cab drivers in Juarez.
• DON’T be afraid to give the man a dollar or two dollar tip if you are happy with the service. Oftentimes, the Juarez drivers will really go out of their way to tell you about the city, and if you want to stop at the convenience store for a coke or a bottle of water there is no meter running.
• Remember, the key is to know where you are going and negotiate in advance.

You will hardly ever be asked for more than $10 unless you are going all the way to the Zaragosa bridge or somewhere equally far. All of the places listed on this web site should be destinations ranging from $6-$8 from downtown. The ride back downtown will often be a little cheaper.

I personally prefer to drive or take the bus, but I think for your first few visits riding the taxis is a very good idea provided you follow these guidelines.