Lucas Garve, CPI
HAVANA, April - Not long ago, a private taxi driver told me that he was
fined because he was traveling in a private car with other occasional
passengers. He had to pay 50 pesos.
The problem lies with the scarcity of public transportation. To go from
point A to point B in Havana requires time, money and luck.
Private drivers —and some who drive government cars as well— avail
themselves of the situation to alleviate gasoline costs, currently selling at
38-45 pesos (1.73 - 2.05 dollars) per gallon, and the occasional passengers
solve their problem, to arrive quickly at their destination.
Transporting passengers in private cars requires authorization. This is
contingent upon the technical inspection of the vehicle, a license for the
transportation of passengers and payment of the applicable tax.
Violations of these rules can mean fines of up to 1,500 pesos. But as far as
that goes, the occasional passenger doesn't have to pay anything.
Yet, several people report they were fined for traveling as passengers in a
private car. They uniformly didn't ask the police under which article and which
law they were being fined. They didn't argue on their own behalf.
The usual answers when asked are "there are no laws here" and "the
law is the law of the policeman."
There is a generalized feeling of guilt among people; they don't even
attempt to defend themselves.
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