The situation of passenger transportation in the province of Las Tunas is complex. Only slightly more than 25 percent of the 72 previously available means of urban transport are providing services in the provincial capital.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- “The technical situation does not allow us to put more than twenty buses into operation. We have problems with the tires and batteries. These are important accessories of our transportation means”, explains Vladimir Téllez Pérez, the director of operations of the Provincial Passenger and General Cargo Transport Company (CARDINAL).
There are nine planned routes in urban transportation in Las Tunas city. Local strategies have made it possible to extend the final destinations, so as not to leave any route without passenger service.
“Besides, five suburban, nine rural, and seven inter-municipal routes should be added; that is the planning we have had in normal times. But, now, we are providing service only on six routes in the urban area, so we do not cover the demand,” Téllez Pérez said.
What has been done to try to hold steady the passenger transport? “Route 6, for example, extends its itinerary to Yariguá, in the morning; the reinforcement route within the city reaches the community of Becerra; Route 1 goes up to La Piedra. The technical situation does not allow us to cover all the planned ones. I say it again, we do not have busses enough”, he added.
The director of operations said that according to feasibility studies, to meet urban demands, the buses on each of the routes should pass every 20 minutes. However, the difficult technical condition of the existing park does not allow it. He pointed out that "each route must have between five and seven busses to accomplish with the planned trips. But there is hardly one for each one, so we can affirm, categorically, that the situation is quite complex."
CARDINAL Transport Company relies on the private sector to guarantee this service. About eight trucks, to which fuel is supplied through sales by magnetic cards, support passenger transportation in Las Tunas.
“We know it is not a compensatory solution for the number of people who need to move daily. On the other hand, fuel availability has serious limitations. In these months, we have been allocated only 67 percent, approximately, of the required,” he said.
