FROM
CUBA
150 pedicab driver detained by police
HAVANA, November 30 (Ernesto
Roque Cintero, UPECI / www.cubanet.org)
- Police last weekend detained 150 pedicab
drivers in Old Havana, seized their vehicles
and sent back to their home towns those
who were not originally from Havana.
"The patio of the police station was
full of pedicabs," said Manuel Román
Alarcón. "When that was full,
the pedicabs were tied together in the street
and passersby and the relatives of those
detained were dispersed."
Those detained were fined for illegally
operating pedicabs. Some who resisted arrest
were jailed.
The pedicabs are popular with foreign visitors
and tourists, but their use is limited to
Cubans as a means of alleviating a shortage
of public transportations. The pedicabs
consist of bicycles with a cab for one or
two passengers.
"I've requested a license to operate
many times, but they're not giving permission
for any private activity," said one
of those detained, who declined to give
his name. "I can't find employment
and I have to do something without stealing
from anybody."
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