On Sunday, 20 electric tricycles began operating in Guantánamo, which have the particularity that customers will be able to make payments digitally.
This is the first time in the country that users can pay for public transportation services via electronic transfer.
According to Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, the minister of the sector, explained on Facebook, QR codes have been enabled for electronic payment in each vehicle, although the option for cash payment will remain for those who prefer it.
The trips will cost 10 CUP.
The tricycles will circulate on three routes in the capital city, prioritizing hospitals.
The three routes are as follows:
1. Departure at Pedro A. Pérez and Pintó, it incorporates into Calixto García until Paseo, 4 west until the General Teaching Hospital. 10 cars are available with a route of 3.5 km.
2. Departure from Warehouse 621 in San Justo, incorporates to Prado street until Moncada and then to Paseo street until Pedro A. Pérez, 9 north until the General Teaching Hospital. Five cars available with a route of 4.2 km.
3. Departure from the Pediatric Hospital, incorporates onto 8 West, Circunvalante West until the Teaching General Hospital. Five means.
In Santiago de Cuba, 10 electric tricycles were added to the state vehicle fleet, with another 10 set to join in August.
These first 10 are already operating on a single route: Barca de Oro - the micros - Avenida Patria - Avenida Jesús Menendez (Alameda) to the Trocha intersection - Carretera del Morro.
It is estimated that five thousand passengers daily will benefit from these means, all intended for the main city.
These tricycles have a capacity for six people, and the charge of their batteries allows them to cover their route about 16 times a day. They are driven by professional drivers - preferably women - to whom the vehicle is rented.
Havana, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, Holguín, and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud already have a similar service.
According to Rodríguez Dávila, in all those territories they have been very well received by the population, "although their presence does not solve the transportation deficits," he admitted.
Citizens are concerned about several aspects, such as the maintenance and care of vehicles, price control, and how they will be charged amid so many blackouts.
The minister announced in April that during 2024, around 200 tricycles are to be delivered, which will help expand the service across different provinces.
The vehicles belong to the company Taxis-Cuba and are assembled in Cuba from components imported from China.
Rodríguez Dávila has admitted on several occasions that the country is going through "one of the worst moments in recent years" in terms of public transport, with barely half the vehicles that were in operation five years ago.
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