Matanzas/The improvised stop in front of the Matanzas high school fills up quickly. A group of passengers waits their turn to board one of the new electric tricycles that cross the city. Some look towards the corner where the vehicles should appear; others comment that “they come by whenever they want.” The scene has been repeated every morning since the 15 units assigned to the provincial capital arrived as part of the plan to ease transportation urban.
“Almost none of them make it to the Faustino Pérez hospital,” Indira complains, with her backpack resting on her knees. “At the beginning of the month I had to go with a sick relative and neither the electric nor the gasoline ones went up there. Private motorcycles ask for 400 pesos during the day and whatever they want at night can reach 800. So there is no pocket that can hold it.” He sighs and adds: “Lucky for the panoramic buses, which still save us for twenty pesos.”
One of the tricycle drivers, Ricardo, defends the reasons why he avoids that route. “These motorcycles are electric, and the ride to the hospital uses up a lot of battery. If we reach the limit, we have to return to the base to recharge, and that wastes time and money. We pay for the rental of the tricycles and also the repairs when they break down. Right now there are three unemployed, and everything indicates that their repair will come out of the pockets of those of us who rent them.”
He assures that the problem is not exclusive to electrical ones. “Those with gasoline also spend more going up and, without a fuel fee, it doesn’t give them business either. That’s why many prefer to take short routes or charge more when they go up.”
/ 14ymedio
The Faustino Pérez hospital, built on the outskirts of the city under an old urbanization plan that never prospered, has become a difficult point to reach. Added to its isolation are prolonged blackouts, which affect both medical services and the transportation system. When there is no electricity, charging tricycles becomes a headache, a problem that 14ymedio He has also documented in provinces such as Havana, Holguín, Villa Clara and Las Tunas.
In Matanzas, the arrival of the tricycles was received with expectation. But three months later, transportation officials acknowledge that “they do not solve the underlying problem.” In addition to the difficulties in getting to the hospital, users question that the city received only 15 units, while Cárdenas, much smaller, received 10. “The routes to the bus terminal are also interrupted,” explains an employee of the sector. “Until they complete the repair of the building and return the terminal to its original location, the Terminal–Pre route will not be able to operate.”
The Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, admitted at the beginning of the month that the project faces “specific limitations that condition coverage and frequency.” According to the official, the most active on social networks of the entire Cabinet, the city’s slopes reduce the autonomy of the batteries, forcing some units to return to the charging base before noon.
“Neither the electric ones are charged nor the gasoline ones are supplied”
Despite the justifications, the people of Matanzas agree that the state tricycle system barely alleviates the transportation shortage. In a city where traditional bus routes are a memory, support for workers’ buses from the Varadero resort has also been reduced due to the tourism crisis. “The new tricycles are not so new anymore,” says a neighbor watching the traffic. “Sometimes you see them after hours, walking around empty and serving their drivers, not the people.”
The situation is worsening with the energy and fuel crisis. “Neither the electric ones are charged nor the gasoline ones are supplied,” Indira summarizes as she finally boards one of the tricycles that arrives at the stop just when anxiety is at its highest point due to rush hour.
The vehicle starts with a slight hum and moves slowly down the avenue. Behind is the sidewalk full of anxious passengers and the feeling that, in Matanzas, each solution ends up depending on the next electrical interruption.
