A new batch of 50 electric vehicles, known as “ecomobiles”, is in the production process at the military industrial plant in Sancti Spiritus.
The raw materials for the new batch have already been contracted, he assured in his networks the Cuban Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, who highlighted that these vehicles are “support for mobility” in the midst of the crisis that the country is going through.
The owner also announced that four new teams have already entered service in the Sancti Spiritus municipality of Cabaiguán. These four units, he said, “are integrated into the existing fleet” under the management of the Cuba Taxis Agency.
They were “structured into two defined routes to cover the needs of the population.” The first will move between the Cabaiguán cemetery and the town of El Perico, and the second will connect the local fire station with the community of 98.
“Support for mobility”
In the opinion of Rodríguez Dávila, although the incorporation of these new ecomobiles “is not the definitive solution to the transportation problem in the province,” it is undoubtedly “a support for the mobility of the Sancti Spiritus population.”
The itinerary of the new routes in Cabaiguán does not exceed four kilometers “so as not to delay the frequency.” It starts at 7:00 in the morning and closes at 5:00 in the afternoon, with staggered departures and a fee of 10 pesos per passenger.
While the local charging base is being completed, the vehicles are recharged at the Sergio Soto refinery, detailed the official, who in the last few hours verified the development of modular charging stations with solar panels and storage batteries.
“The charging base planned in the municipality itself, which we also visited, will be completed in the coming days, allowing the energy supply to be carried out locally next week,” he explained.
The Ecomobile project arose from local ingenuity in the military company itself to respond to the limitations of urban transportation.
The two initial prototypes, put into experimental operation in the provincial capital of Sancti Spíritus in 2024, took advantage of the experience accumulated by the entity’s specialists in the recovery of similar electrical means used in tourism.
Electric minibuses manufactured in Cuba conquer Sancti Spíritus
“New opportunities” in the face of the crisis
The construction and operation of ecomobiles in Sancti Spíritus is one of the initiatives to alleviate the deficient situation of passenger transportation in the midst of the severe economic and energy crisis that the island is suffering.
Among these alternatives promoted by the ministry headed by Rodríguez Dávila are the new minibuses dedicated to route services in provincial capitals of the country, the manufacture of railway buses and the reestablishment of commuter rail services.
The minister recently stated that “new opportunities” have arisen for the sector after the approval of a financial scheme that provides more autonomy and will allow “urgent needs to be met” for which they are “progressing in hiring.”
In a previous publication on his social networks, he explained the effects due to “objective” problems such as the lack of foreign currency for maintenance and investments and the insufficient availability of fuel.
Until July of this year, about half of the 2,500 provincial routes operating in the country were paralyzed due to “fuel shortages” and “technical problems.”
China provides donation for transportation in Havana and Matanzas will have biogas buses
In August, the authorities announced the delivery of a donation from China for the rehabilitation of buses in Havana and the next circulation of buses powered by biogas in the Matanzas municipality of Martí.
From the donation, which already had previously been reporteda hundred vehicles currently out of service will benefit from the Chinese donation, which includes engines, tires and batteries, as well as spare parts, tools and maintenance equipment, according to the diary Granma.
