Manuel Vázquez Portal, Grupo de trabajo Decoro
HAVANA, June – Public transportation in Cuba is a problem. Buses, trains and planes are few and far between, making the experience of travel a tragedy. The idea of pleasure travel is a contradiction in terms under these conditions.
The taxi is one option open to Cubans, but not one without some elements of adventure. First, because of the nature of the vehicles, second, because they are just as likely to contain six as ten passengers, and third, because the prices are astronomical.
The type of taxi in which one can travel depends on the amount and type of currency one has. For hard currency, there are soft taxis with air conditioning. For soft money, that is, the peso, the taxis are harder, usually involving luck and a wait to board.
These two great families are divided into several types. The hard currency or dollar taxis are off limits to the population —they are only for foreigners— and are run by eight companies: Fénix, Panataxis, O.K., and others. The peso taxis are divided into collective, leased,
pedicabs and clandestine.
Let’s look at the second family, which is in the end the one that concerns us, because that’s the kind of money we have.
Collective. These are cars from the 40’s and 50’s with innumerable mechanical adaptations that roam the city, squeezing-in from six to nine passengers at 10 pesos a head. The average Cuban salary is 200 pesos a month.
Leased. Old Russian Ladas, owned by the State, are leased to the drivers for 150 pesos a day. The drivers also pay for repairs and gasoline. They carry four passengers at 10 pesos each, unless they are hired by one person paying desperation rates.
Pedicabs. One-man-power tricycles festooned with decals and flags carry one or two passengers, also at 10 pesos each.
Clandestine. Private cars, most likely belonging to professionals who cannot make ends meet, cruise at night, evading the vigilance of police and inspectors, picking up strays here and there around the city.
This is the way Cubans move about, awaiting different taxis and a different destiny.
Versión original en español
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