The 20 electric tricycles for passenger transport in the city of Las Tunas have been out of service for two weeks, and there is no estimated date for their return, confirmed Alexander Osorio Peña, director of Operations of the Taxi Agency Cuba in the area.
The origin of the problem is the paralysis of the charging base for these vehicles due to the lack of a device from the physical grounding system known as a suppressor, a part that has not been obtainable anywhere in the country.
Osorio explained that they managed to acquire a unit, but the installation failed, the digital website Tiempo 21 of the provincial station revealed on Monday.
"We managed to purchase one, but when the specialists from Copextel went to install it, they found that it was not compatible," the official added.
The search extended nationwide without results. "Both we and our colleagues from Copextel have searched throughout Cuba, and we haven't found the device, which forces us to hire the services of a private company to import it and resume operations," he added.
Importing through a private entity is currently the only viable option, although there is no set deadline.
There is a second charging base, recently inaugurated, but it also cannot resolve the emergency, as it was originally designed for urban transport tricycles and later reassigned for transporting patients undergoing dialysis treatment, a service to which Las Tunas incorporated 10 Dongfeng electric taxis in July.
The energy capacity limitations of that facility prevent it from also handling the load of the 20 stalled tricycles, although the executive indicated that plans are underway to expand it in order to move the vehicles there in the future.
The inability to find a suppressor anywhere in Cuba, a low-cost part that is nonetheless difficult to access, highlights the logistical fragility underlying the only real urban transportation remaining for much of the population in Tunera.
The paralysis is hitting hard in a city with public transportation at its limit. In recent years, electric tricycles have become the main mobility alternative for those in Tunero.
In March, the municipality formalized its entry into passenger transportation with fares of 50 pesos within the municipality and 10 pesos per kilometer to the boundaries, as well as eight official pick-up points.
Since February, Las Tunas has practically suspended all interprovincial bus departures, and has only maintained a nightly express service to Havana.
The dependency pattern on tricycles as a substitute for collapsed transportation is repeated in other provinces. In Matanzas, fares doubled overnight to reach 300 pesos per trip, and the government had to intervene to lower tricycle prices after complaints from users.
In Sancti Spíritus, the authorities announced that starting in August they would begin to be stricter with tricycles operating without legalization, evidence of a system that initially tolerated informal proliferation and is now attempting to regulate it without addressing infrastructure issues.
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