Public transportation adds new routes

Fifteen new short routes and three longer ones (La Habana-Maisí, and Santiago de Cuba to both Mayabeque and Artemisa) will be launched shortly thanks to the acquisition of 100 vehicles for interprovincial use, allowing the buses replaced to be used to expand local services.

This information was reported to the recent meeting of the National Assembly of People’s Power Services Commission, where deputies discussed public transportation, of significant importance to the population.

According to Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez, 253 new buses and 103 used vehicles have been acquired.

Also being expanded, he reported, is the use of route taxis. Functioning presently in Havana are 287 cars and vans on five routes, with two to be added in January, when this service will also be available in the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque.

Yzquierdo also reported the ongoing production of Diana buses for services between municipalities and the purchase of four wheel drive Kamaz trucks for use in mountainous areas.

He explained that priorities for 2018 include repairs to the national highway and continued work on the railway system, with nine new cars and locomotors from China to arrive in 2019.

As of the end of October, the number of passengers using public transportation increased by 17.8% as compared to the same period last year, the minister reported, noting that many challenges remain to meeting the needs of the population.