The services of transport of passengers managed by the Cuban Ministry of Transportation (Mitrans), which includes interprovincial buses, registered an annual drop of 93% between January and September 2025.
This is confirmed by the data published this Friday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) and which includes a Spanish agency report EFE.
The reference is a new example of the severe crisis suffered by public transportation on the island, conditioned by the precarious economic scenario in which the country is immersed.
This situation is exacerbated by the lack of fuel, currently highly compromised by the recent events in Venezuela and the new provisions of the Trump Administration that cross-border tariff sanctions on third countries that supply oil to the island.
The Mitrans services that recorded the worst decrease were freight – which includes buses from state companies – which plummeted by 97%. In real numbers, it went from 40.2 million passengers in the same period of 2024 to just about 900 thousand.
On the other hand, the number of Cubans who used urban buses decreased by 17.5% annually, while cargo transportation contracted by 6%.
The modality that registered the most significant increase was suburban transport – that is, vehicles that move passengers from towns to cities – which quintupled from 6 to 28.8 million, according to official data. Rural services, on the other hand, grew by 36%.
Bus recovery
In December 2025, the delivery of a group of repaired buses for public transportation in Havana was expected to begin, but this ultimately did not happen.
The delivery schedule spoke of putting between 40 and 50 buses into operation before the end of last year. Of that number, none could begin operating as planned.
Work is currently still underway at the Evelio Prieto Guillama Bus Production Company (Caisa), the only assembler of these vehicles in Cuba, located in Guanajay, Artemisa.
A recent report indicated that the first buses were now due to begin operating before the end of January.
After going blank in 2025, the first repaired buses for Havana must be ready in January
The government program, which is carried out thanks to a donation from China, aims to recover 100 buses to transport passengers in the capital.
Of this total, 60 correspond to the rigid model Yutong 6118 and another 40 are articulated buses, the repair of which is more complex.
Cuba has been going through a public transportation crisis for years that shows no signs of letting up.
The mobility problem originates, among other reasons, from the impossibility of repairing old units – either due to not being able to buy the parts or due to the difficulties in importing them – as well as the lack of fuel.
This situation has worsened in 2026, especially in recent weeks after the stoppage of oil shipments from Venezuela.
EFE / OnCuba
