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| Electric motorcycle riders have come to the rescue of Cuban passengers delayed by fuel shortages (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE) |
Havana (AFP) - It is rush hour in Havana and the queue at the bus stop is longer than ever. Then a fleet of electric motorcycles appears, beeping their horns.
Surprised
and relieved, passengers jump on the backs of the 50 or so electric mopeds.
It is a new
solution for Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that
have curbed oil imports.
Cuba has
long been known for the classic American cars that people here lovingly
maintain decades after they stopped being built.
But urban
transport on the communist island is evolving.
The bikes'
horns beep and some of the riders play reggaeton music -- but, being electric,
their motors make hardly any noise.
A Chinese-made
electric motorcycle costs between $1,800 and $2,300 in Cuba. A basic
petrol-powered bike on the island can cost up to six times that.
 |
Authorities
estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcyles in use in Cuba
(AFP Photo/YAMIL
LAGE)
|
Volunteer
riders
The
electric bikes -- with a maximum speed of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) per
hour -- were first licensed for import in 2013.
They have
multiplied in the streets since then -- and have come into their own with the
recent fuel shortages.
"I
really like this initiative, it helps a lot with the economy," says
passenger Yanet Figueroa, 42, sitting on the back of one of the bikes.
"It
really helps people who have great need of it."
Cuba
plunged into a fuel crisis in September after Washington imposed restrictions
on fuel shipments from Cuba's top ally Venezuela.
Cuba had to
make do in September with just 30 percent of its usual fuel supply and the
level has still not recovered -- it is forecast to reach no more than 80
percent this month.
With the
public transport network badly hit, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on
drivers to pick up passengers voluntarily.
The owners
of electric bikes known as "motorinas" answered the call.
"We
have volunteered to do this as a service to society," says one of the
drivers, Javier Capote, 33.
"It is
going very well. We are very happy about it."
The
president himself during a televised address mentioned "those famous...
what do you call them, the bikes? The 'motorinas', that have come out to
help."
 |
Mechanics
have work to do servicing Cuba's fleet of electric motorcycles
(AFP Photo/YAMIL
LAGE)
|
Electric
bike era
Cuban
authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcycles currently in use on
the island.
That figure
is expected to rise as the government in late October began to sell them with
the price capped at $1,700.
Those who
make a living servicing the bikes are pleased by that move as it will bring
down costs.
"It
seems like a very good idea to us mechanics," says one, Enrique Alfonso,
47, in his workshop.
He recalls
the economic crisis of the 1990s that followed the end of cheap imports from
the Soviet Union.
"That
was the era of (affordable) Chinese bicycles. Now we are in the era of electric
motorcycles," he says.
"With
everything that is going on the country, they have become obtainable for a lot
of people."
 |
Members of
the Electric Motorcycles of Cuba club ride passengers home
(AFP Photo/YAMIL
LAGE)
|
Accidents
The
electric bikes had a mixed reception at first. Silent and often inexpertly
ridden, they are often involved in accidents in a country that already suffers
from thousands of crashes a year.
Officials
say that of the 7,000 road accidents recorded so far this year, a third have
involved electric motorcycles.
Authorities
have responded by insisting riders have a license and register their vehicles.
The
flourishing of electric bikes follows several years of gradual opening-up of
Cuba's state-run economy. It has also coincided with a digital mini-revolution.
Thanks to
the availability of 3G-standard internet connections since last year, riders
can network more easily.
The 3G
connections helped spawn the Electric Motorbikes of Cuba online group, a club
with more than 80 members.
It started
out as a club for enthusiasts seeking to have "healthy fun and share the
passion we all have for electric motorcycles and road safety," says its
president Osdany Fleites, a 37-year-old taxi driver.
"The motorcycles
do not pollute the environment, they do not make a noise," he says.
Now the
club has evolved to have an environmental and "social purpose."
Along with
another club, Eracing, its members take part in rescuing bus passengers stuck
due to the fuel shortages.
They have
also taken part in environmental clean-up jobs, helping eradicate an
infestation of troublesome giant snails in Havana, donated blood and visited
children in a cancer ward.
VIDEO: 🇨🇺 Electric motorcycles are providing a new solution for #Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports https://t.co/VhwAuWCCIS pic.twitter.com/9fAmyc0W57— AFP news agency (@AFP) 8 november 2019
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