Transportation crisis in Cuba: More than half of the provincial routes are paralyzed.

The Cuban government acknowledged the transportation crisis in the country, revealing that more than half of the provincial routes are paralyzed, as reported this Tuesday during the session of the Cuban Parliament.

Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, Minister of Transportation (Mitrans), indicated that as of the end of April, 52% of the routes of provincial transportation companies were inactive, as reported by the official newspaper Granma.

The minister explained that, of the active provincial routes, 86% operate with only one trip in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Rodríguez admitted that the situation is more critical in the provinces of Camagüey, Granma, Villa Clara, Ciego de Ávila, Holguín, Matanzas, and Artemisa.

The deputies also learned that, by 2024, the plan includes 1,306 million passengers, and up to April, 908 million were reached.

However, according to Granma, there is a trend of "decrease in passenger transportation in the country."

He justified this situation with "the deterioration of the technical availability coefficient and fuel limitations".

The parliamentarians were also informed that, according to the results of the verification carried out on the country's transit agencies, in 2023, 2,268,118 shipments arrived in Cuba, with a higher incidence at Correos de Cuba, Aerovaradero, and Transcargo.

However, Ailyn Febles Estrada, vice president of the Committee on Services of the National Assembly of People's Power, acknowledged that there are issues with the transportation of packages.

In that sense, he admitted that the difficulties lie in the allocation and supply of fuel, which affects the delay in the transportation of goods from Havana to the municipalities, significantly impacting the quality of services, as reported by Granma.

Recently, the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the disastrous situation of transportation in Cuba, but stated that it is a phenomenon linked to the global crisis.

During the YouTube program "From the Presidency," which he hosts himself, the ruler stated that the sector is going through "the worst moments in recent years."

As evidence of this, last June, images circulated on social media showing dozens of Cubans spending up to five days on the waiting list at the bus terminal in Havana.

The journalist Yosmany Mayeta posted a gallery showing several people of all ages, including young children, sleeping on the floor of the Villa Nueva Terminal in Havana.

At the other end of the route, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the situation is not very different.

The transportation crisis in Cuba is such that people in this eastern city pay up to 1,500 pesos to put their names on a clandestine waiting list that exists at the train terminal in order to travel.

One affected person, named Esther, reported to the journalist Mayeta the hardships they endured in order to leave the province.