Between January and March 2025, Cuban public buses transported 46 million passengers, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
This figure, which at first glance may seem impressive, actually represents a 23% decline compared to the same period in 2024, when 59.7 million users were recorded. It has also sparked a wave of disbelief among citizens, who each day confront a system paralyzed by shortages of buses, spare parts, and fuel.
In social media, Cubans quickly questioned the accuracy of this data. In an official ONEI post on Facebook, a user commented sarcastically: “In which movie did you see that?”
To this, the entity itself responded that the 46 million included various sections per passenger. However, skepticism remained. Another user replied: “Come see areas like Cárdenas, Varadero, and other places to see the people thrown out on the streets going to work day after day.”
This type of citizen reaction exposes the gulf between official statistics and the reality experienced on the island.
Recent reports indicate the extreme deterioration of the system. Only 252 buses were operational in Havana in April, while over 300 remained out of service.
In March, the regime acknowledged the collapse of national public transportation, significantly impacting the population, who faces long wait times, crowded trips, and canceled routes due to a lack of resources each day.
In Havana alone, urban routes have reduced their frequency to "one or two buses a day."
What stands out the most is that in light of these data, Cuba shows a level of statistical efficiency that matches or exceeds that of countries with robust systems.
For example, the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT), with a more modern infrastructure and more abundant resources, transported an average of 56,750 passengers per bus in three months of 2023.
While the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York managed to transport approximately 17,250 passengers by bus during the same period.
In contrast, if we assume that Cuba has a fleet of approximately 1,500 buses, we would be talking about more than 30,000 passengers per bus during that period. This would place Cuban transportation at a performance level comparable to or exceeding that of developed countries, which seems implausible given the current state of the system.
Is it reasonable to assume that amid the collapse, Cuba outperforms two of the cities with the best transportation infrastructure in the world? The numbers say one thing; the streets and the bus stops tell a very different story.
According to the disaggregated data from the ONEI:
- Urban transport decreased by 31% (from 26.9 to 18.5 million).
- The Ministry of Transportation (MITRANS) transported only 8.4 million people, a 36% decrease compared to 2024.
- The total number of passengers transported by all means declined by 4% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, ONEI itself acknowledges that a passenger can be counted multiple times, which creates room for statistical duplications. Additionally, there is no transparency regarding how many buses are actually in operation or how many routes are active.
While state agencies insist on tallying trips, Cubans count hours spent waiting in the sun. The gap between the data and everyday life reinforces the perception that statistics are used more to gloss over realities than to analyze them.
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