Colonial carriages could return to Havana
Roberto Alvarez Quiñones
No one could imagine it.The carts, calesa, chitrines, and trams thrown by horses that circulated through the Cuban streets at the end of the 18Of the best public transport services in the world.
And I'm not exaggerating.In some neighborhoods and in central areas that could be a reality, as is already a fact in the cities of the interior of the island, including the provincial capitals, in which urban transport in good measure is in charge of carts, as in the time of the Quijote and SanchoBelly.
In Santa Clara, in response to the prohibition of collecting passengers inside the city, about 200 cartoonists and coachmen went on strike and the authorities had to back down.
The public transport crisis in Cuba is permanent, and is aggravated for periods, particularly in the capital.Today he suffers his greatest worsening in 30 years.The origins of this perensess.
Of 2,400 Guaguas in 1958, less than 500 in 2021
In 1958, Cubanate Capital 1.5 million inhabitants (demographic yearbook of Cuba, 1999) and had about 2,400 buses and about 3,500taxis, according to different historical sources.Today, with 2.1 million inhabitants, there are less than 500 guaguas in service and about 2,300 private taxi drivers according to official data, which provide the same cars of the 50s and 40s.
Havaneros today, born mostly after 1959, do not have the transport of its city when it was "exploited by imperialism".
Input, Havana in 1900 was the first city in Latin America in having electric trams.Also in 1900 it circulated through the Cuban capital the first car in Latin America.Long earlier, in 1837, it was the first city of Latin America, and third in the world, in having passenger and cargo trains (Havana-Güines, and then to vjucal).And in 1862 the second city of the subcontinent was in having horses thrown away.
Until March 1959 they operated in the large companies, the Omnibusalized Cooperative (COA), composed of small owners who acquired one or two buses and put them on routes chosen by them; and modern buses (AMSA).
The COA had about 1,600 US vehicles General Motors, which were the same as simultaneously they served in the US.UU.And Amsa had about 800 Leyland bus, from Great Britain, popularly called "nurses" for its white color with a blue strip.
Frequency of 5-10 minutes between a bus and the following
Both companies private bind an efficient service with a frequency of between 5 and 10 minutes between a bus and the following.The passage cost 8 cents.
I remember that in the corner of Infanta and San Lázaro they stopped about eight or new new ones and tails were formed, not of people, but of guaguas one behind the other, almost always with available seats.The entire block was filled with even anocho buses, or more, in a row.It looked like a train.In any photo habanera of the 50s there are many guaguas.
With communism, instead of guaguas tails came the tails of anguished and moody people because "La Guagua does not come".And if it comes, or not stop, or cannot enter because no one else can.
Nobody's property; Nobody cares about anything
And it is that with the state monopoly the axiom of "The Eye of the Master fattens the horse" disappeared.Nothing works, nobody takes care of anything, there is no professional rigor, nor spare parts, nor organization adequate work, nor money to improve anything.Nobody cares about anything.
The Government spent hundreds, or billions of dollars in the import of Checoslovakia (Skoda), Great Britain (Leyland), Hungary (Ikarus), Japan (Hino), China (Yutong), Russia (Paz), and evenSome van from Poland in the 60s that the popular grace bounted as "little polaquitas", which made the same route of certain guaguas routles.
Because they are not owned by anyone who has always lasted very little time in service, destroyed by the lack of maintenance and spare parts, disorganization, cannibalism of parts to keep those that work, miserable salaries, and for the worst factor of all: disinterest, apathy and unproductivity of workers in socialism, which makes them poorer.
Guaguas frequency, from 40 minutes to two hours
To relieve the crisis, inventions such as the "camels" were made, traces that dragged a bus attempt without ventilation.And other articulated trucks.All artisanally warehouses without specialized technical rigor, based on "short and nail".The passengers suffocated heat, and on top of women were victims of male "jamoneo".
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According to the Metrobus state company, which organizes the bus system in Havana, only to improve the service of the city to have 20 routes, with more than 30 buses each, often between 3 and 10 minutes in the peak schedule.But there are 16 routes and with very few buses, with an average frequency between 40 minutes and two hours.Does anyone know of any other capital urban route in the Western hemisphere that takes two hours to pass?
Government instead of supporting private taxi drivers them
The height is that the regime instead of supporting the private taxi drivers is dedicated to torpedoing them.The owners of the "almendrones" have been imposed price stops that barely cover their operating expenses.That peculiar name arose half a century ago when the National Association of Revolutionary Rental Chauffeurs.
Those stops are an outrage.The taxi drivers did not receive any increase in any salary (they are not salaried), and on top of them they have raised the price of gasoline to 20 pesos, equivalent to $ 3.12 The gallon, price 27% higher than $ 2.29 in force in Miami (January 31, 2021), where personal income is infinitely higher than that of Cubans.
They have also uploaded the prices of the tires and everything that requires the maintenance of cars with more than 60 and 70 years of exploitation.Those cars, which in the rest of the world call “classics” and can only be seen in museums and exhibitions, in covering due to the creative ingenuity of its owners and technicians, which more than mechanics are magicians.
The carts will return if Raúl Castro does not move to record
The State now does not have currencies to import guaguas, parts of spare parts, or sufficient fuel.And constantly exacerbates.And in the midst of that worsening the Chinese "sister" the supply of pieces for the omnibus and genexported to the island because the governance did pay what owes for them.You could only renew the park of some routes if any country will.But there are either donors.
Conclusion, even if the regime fixed them to keep some buses working everything indicates that in Havana streets they will cross with carriages of the colonial era that CirilSolás.
Or maybe they are more rudimentary vehicles, such as those used by the Cid Campeador when you walk his beloved Mrs. Jimena.This is going to happen Raúl Castro does not open the economy to the free company.If it is still planted in its Jurassic immobility, it will be that a great “achievement of the revolution”.
(Alvarez Quiñones is a writer, journalist, and historian.For four decades he has written about economic, political, historical and social issues.They have nine published books.Specialized in Latin America and Cuban reality.Resides in southern California).
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