Elderly individuals and women with children faced a day of frustration this Sunday as they waited from the early hours for buses that never arrived due to a fuel shortage. Journalist Yosmany Mayeta highlighted the lack of transportation at the Calle 4 terminal, where trucks and buses typically depart for the municipalities of Santiago de Cuba and nearby provinces, through a post on Facebook.
"Several people have contacted me to report the critical situation with Interprovincial Transportation and the departure of state buses to the municipalities in Santiago de Cuba," Mayeta noted.
Although the video shared by the journalist captures the dire situation people experienced this Sunday, he emphasized that the crisis worsens from Monday to Friday. In the short clip, a person can be heard stating that people had been waiting for transportation since 4:00 AM.
"There are elderly people and women with children here waiting for a bus that was supposed to leave at 5:00 AM. They say there's no fuel, and today, being Sunday, it's even worse," one individual pointed out.
Recently, images of a bus parking lot in Santiago de Cuba circulated on social media, showing most of the vehicles in a state of severe disrepair. These images sparked significant outrage among netizens, who questioned the regime's management of public transportation.
The Facebook page "Rodando Por Cuba" shared a gallery of images of this "bus graveyard," generating numerous comments. Most agreed that the government's mismanagement was to blame and opined that the fate of the buses would be vastly different if they were in private hands.
The Cuban government has acknowledged the transportation crisis in the country, revealing that more than half of the provincial routes are paralyzed, as reported this Tuesday during a session of the Cuban Parliament.
Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, Minister of Transportation (Mitrans), indicated that by the end of April, 52% of the routes of provincial transportation companies were non-operational, according to the official newspaper Granma.
Last July, the service of the Gazzelle micros, run by the company Taxis Cuba, was affected in Havana due to instability in the fuel supply, dealing a severe blow to thousands of citizens in the capital.
On their Facebook page, the group informed the public about the situation and explained their operation: The Gazzelle micros refuel at night and early morning to provide route service to the population the following day.
Understanding Santiago de Cuba's Transportation Crisis
To provide more insight into the transportation crisis in Santiago de Cuba, here are some frequently asked questions and their answers:
What caused the transportation crisis in Santiago de Cuba?
The transportation crisis in Santiago de Cuba is primarily due to a severe fuel shortage, which has led to the paralysis of buses and trucks that serve the region.
How is the government addressing the transportation issue?
The government has acknowledged the crisis and reported that over half of the provincial transportation routes are non-operational. However, specific measures to resolve the issue have not been detailed.