What happens when a transportation planner spends a month cycling around Cuba? Naturally, he takes ubiquitous photos of the classic vehicles and dives in to really find out how transportation planning happens in one of the most planned societies in the world.
The following presentation is my perspective of the Cuban transportation system based on a month-long trip cycling, busing and trucking around the country in April and May 2015. I was lucky enough to come across an office of the Ministry of Transport by chance and even luckier to be able to walk in and get an interview with an official. The presentation promises lots of photos of interesting vehicles.
See the four addenda presentations for additional transportation-related photos.
- More Cuba Cars 2015
- Cuba Bus Stops and More Buses 2015
- Cuba Trucks 2015
- Cuba Bikes, Etc 2015
A Ride Through Cuba 2015 - Transport in Cuba from the Perspective of a US Transportation Planner
1. A
Ride
Through
Cuba
Transport
in
Cuba
from
the
perspec7ve
of
a
US
transporta7on
planner
By:
Lewis
Thorwaldson
Photos:
Brandy
Davis
&
Lewis
Thorwaldson
Originally
presented
to
MTA
NYC
Transit
Department
of
Opera7ons
Planning
September
2015
2. Our
Route
We
visited
Cuba
for
four
weeks
in
April
and
May
2015
as
part
of
a
larger
bicycle
trip
to
South
America.
Our
rough
i7nerary
was
as
follows:
Fly
to
Havana
-‐>
Bus
to
Viñales
-‐>
Bus
to
Baracoa
-‐>Bicycle
southern
coast
-‐>
Truck
to
Bayamo
-‐>
Truck
to
Havana
The
following
presenta7on
covers
at
a
high
level
what
I
learned
about
transporta7on
in
Cuba
based
on
personal
observa7on
and
experience,
and
an
interview
with
an
official
at
the
Ministry
of
Transport.
Separate
addenda
include
addi7onal
photos
of
various
aspects
of
the
transporta7on
system.
3. There
is
a
very
strong
street
life
in
Havana
because
there
are
so
few
cars
–
people
walk
around
all
over
the
streets,
with
the
excep7on
of
a
few
arterials,
and
spend
a
lot
of
7me
hanging
out
in
the
street.
4. The
dominant
sound
you
hear
from
your
window
is
the
low
hum
of
conversa7on
rather
than
the
whirrr
and
honking
of
cars.
5.
6. There
are
a
lot
of
interes7ng
buildings
in
varying
states
of
disrepair.
These
were
along
the
malecon.
7. Note
that
there
are
a
lot
buildings
in
Havana
that
have
been
maintained
or
restored,
but
those
are
generally
in
the
more
touris7c
areas.
8. Our
casa
owner
pulled
our
bikes
up
to
the
third
floor
by
hand.
We
had
planned
to
put
our
bikes
together
at
the
airport
and
ride
into
town,
but
had
a
problem
with
one
of
them
so
we
had
to
spend
a
fortune
on
a
taxi.
9. One
thing
to
understand
about
Cuba
is
that
there
is
a
major
vehicle
shortage.
Aer
the
revolu7on,
the
US
and
our
allies
cut
off
7es
to
the
country
and
stopped
shipping
cars
or
parts.
They
were
able
to
supplement
the
fleet
with
imports
from
the
Soviet
Union
un7l
that
crumbled.
The
Reagan
administra7on
created
a
law
that
barred
any
foreign
vessels
from
US
ports
for
six
months
aer
landing
in
a
Cuban
port.
This
effec7vely
means
that
barely
anyone
will
trade
with
Cuba
because
the
American
plum
is
just
too
juicy
to
risk
it.
China
does
nowadays
because
they
are
kind
of
a
big
deal,
but
that
seems
to
be
more
of
a
recent
thing.
No
parts
+
no
new
cars
=
what
we
have
now…
16. The
Lada
style
is
the
most
typical
taxi
used
by
the
state
taxi
companies.
The
Lada
is
actually
just
one
of
several
Soviet
car
brands,
but
I
just
lump
them
all
together
because
I
like
to
say
Lada.
17. If
only
their
makers
could
have
been
the
same
way!
All
living
together
in
harmony…
18. It
also
means
that
there
are
VERY
few
cars
outside
of
ci7es,
which
is
great
for
cycling.
19. Rush
Hour
in
Baracoa
In
fact,
even
in
most
of
the
ci7es,
cycling
was
a
breeze.
20. For
those
who
don’t
know,
Baracoa,
home
of
Che
Guevara
chocolate
factory!
We
ate
lots
of
cheap
chocolate
to
supplement
calories
for
cycling.
25. This
is
the
coast
road
between
San7ago
and
Niquero.
It
is
a
des7na7on
for
cyclists
because
of
the
beauty
and
lack
of
traffic.
26. Of
course,
it
isn’t
a
very
important
road,
so
there
have
been
few
repairs
of
hurricane
damage.
There
was
a
detour
through
the
dry
riverbed.
That
hopper
was
placed
to
let
traffic
know
that
something
just
isn’t
quite
right.
27. If
you
think
collectors
are
going
to
be
running
to
Cuba
once
we
open
the
borders,
think
again.
With
no
parts,
it
takes
a
lot
of
ingenuity
and
crasmanship
to
keep
these
cars
running
–
there
isn’t
much
original
on
these
cars.
Our
Lada
driver
to
the
airport
told
us
he
fixes
his
engine
belts
using
old
shoe
soles.
28. Of
course,
this
vehicle
shortage
is
felt
in
the
transit
industry
as
well.
29. There
are
a
LOT
of
different
buses
on
the
road,
especially
in
the
rural
areas.
These
state-‐run
buses
generally
ran
fixed
routes
in
rural
areas
to/from
ci7es.
30.
31.
32. Note
that
you
won’t
find
so
many
of
the
old
school
buses
like
you
do
in
most
of
La7n
America
because,
well,
they
come
from
the
US.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37. The
school
buses
are
all
state
run
and
transport
the
students
and
the
teachers.
I
was
told
that
they
fill
in
on
the
regular
transit
lines
aer
taking
the
students
in.
38. In
fact,
all
state
vehicles
are
required
help
fill
in
for
the
vehicle
shortage.
The
woman
I
interviewed
at
the
Ministry
of
Transporta7on
told
me
that
if
she’s
driving
somewhere
and
has
space,
she
must
stop
at
pick
up
points
to
take
passengers.
They
collect
the
fares
just
like
the
regular
bus.
Speaking
of
fares,
they
are
quite
cheap,
between
20
centavos
and
1
peso
75,
which
is
about
1-‐7
cents.
39. Not
all
of
the
buses
are
ancient
though.
They
have
gojen
some
new
city
buses
from
China
42. I
was
told
Omnibus
Nacional
is
intercity,
assuming
I
understood
correctly,
and
they
do
say
Havana
(here
on
the
other
side
of
the
country),
but
they
sure
do
look
like
urban
fixed-‐route
service,
and
I
never
saw
one
outside
of
town.
43. Here’s
one
that
is
actually
in
Havana
–
I
love
the
Playboy
Che
44. Here’s
how
the
tourists
get
around.
These
are
what
you
get
with
your
all-‐inclusive
tour
deals.
45.
46. Here’s
how
we
got
to
Baracoa
and
Viñales
–
the
Viazul.
This
is
the
na7onal
intercity
tourist
bus
company.
Cubans
have
only
recently
been
allowed
on
the
Viazul.
Prices
for
locals
are
lower
than
for
tourists.
47. It’s
probably
not
as
plush
as
the
all-‐inclusives,
but
it
was
s7ll
nice.
$66
bucks
to
go
about
700
miles
across
the
country
seems
prejy
reasonable,
un7l
you
consider
that
the
typical
doctor
or
lawyer
makes
about
$200
a
month
and
a
blue-‐
collar
worker
takes
in
much
less.
When
we’re
out
there
throwing
around
monthly
salaries
on
bus
rides,
it
starts
to
be
a
lijle
less
wonder
that
so
many
Cubans
are
trying
to
get
something
out
of
you.
48. This
is
what
you
face
geong
off
the
Viazul
–
all
the
touts
pushing
casas
on
you.
So
how
do
the
locals
get
around?
49. The
Astro
is
the
other
na7onal
bus
carrier.
Astro
is
supposed
to
be
for
Cubans,
but
we’ve
heard
tourists
can
pay
in
tourist
money
to
ride
it.
We
were
turned
away
in
Manzanillo.
Like
everything
in
Cuba,
I
think
it
depends
on
the
7me
and
place.
We
probably
would
have
been
charged
in
tourist
pesos,
so
even
if
we’d
been
let
on
the
bus,
the
savings
wouldn’t
have
been
huge.
50. A
Note
on
Currency
There
are
two
currencies
in
Cuba.
Conver7ble
(tourist)
pesos:
1
CUC
=
$1
USD
Na7onal
pesos:
1
MN
=
24
CUC
(buying)
Imported
goods
and
anything
marketed
to
tourists
(casas,
hotels,
buses,
restaurants)
are
bought
with
CUC.
Local
goods
are
in
MN.
Price
differences
can
be
stunning.
A
tourist
meal
can
cost
6-‐10
CUC.
A
meal
at
a
local
restaurant
could
be
30-‐100
MN.
A
tourist
coffee
is
1-‐3
CUC.
A
coffee
at
a
local
stand
is
1-‐2
MN.
51. Cuba
has
quite
a
comprehensive
train
system.
We’ve
been
told
by
prejy
much
everyone
we
asked
that
it
is
“horrible”
and
slow.
I
wanted
to
ride
it
anyway.
Cuban
Train
Network
52. It’s
cheap
–
that
32
peso
price
from
Guantanamo
to
Havana
is
just
over
a
buck
for
575
miles.
We
tried
to
take
the
train,
several
7mes,
but
got
the
runaround
from
people
who
didn’t
know
the
schedule
or
were
otherwise
completely
incompetent.
53. Schedules
change
frequently,
as
you
can
see
from
the
chalk
schedule.
Again,
maintenance
is
a
huge
issue
and
they
are
always
breaking
down.
54. I
wasn’t
allowed
in
to
take
any
photos
in
Guantanamo,
so
this
is
as
close
as
I
ever
got
to
a
train.
55. Un7l
I
got
back
to
Havana
and
randomly
discovered
this.
73. All
you
have
to
do
is
prove
that
you
own
the
vehicle,
it’s
func7onal
and
you
can
drive
and
you’ll
be
given
a
license
to
operate
anywhere
in
Cuba
on
an
“oferta-‐demanda”
basis,
or
fix-‐your-‐own-‐rate.
You
pay
taxes
and
social
security
like
a
regular
employee,
but
that’s
it.
I
was
actually
a
bit
surprised
to
hear
that
there
was
so
lijle
restric7on
on
what
is
typically
an
overly
restricted
business
elsewhere.
Most
of
the
old
American
cars
you
see
on
the
roads,
the
ones
that
aren’t
spruced
up
for
tourists,
are
running
as
collec7vos
on
fixed
routes.
75. They
are
cheap,
cramped
and
busy.
The
short-‐haul
intercity
ones
are
usually
covered,
but
the
sea7ng
is
just
four
basic
metal
benches
along
the
back
where
hopefully
you’ll
get
the
window
benches,
unless
it’s
raining.
We
rode
one
of
these
two
hours
from
Manzanillo
to
Bayamo
for
a
buck
or
two.
76. I
can’t
really
explain
why,
but
this
photo
really
does
a
good
job
of
encapsula7ng
a
lot
of
the
essence
of
Cuba
for
us.
78. This
is
the
one
we
took
back
to
Havana
from
Bayamo
(460
miles)
for
about
$8.
79. Of
course,
we
had
to
wait
several
hours
for
him
to
fill
up.
80. And
we
had
to
take
a
break
for
some
minor
repairs.
Actually,
I
suspect
it
was
rou7ne
maintenance
they
fit
in
whenever
they’re
passing
home.
81. The
White
Whale
The
“camel”
is
my
white
whale.
I
had
to
pull
this
photo
off
the
internet
because
I
never
got
one.
I
spojed
one
from
the
Viazul
once,
and
another
7me
saw
one
pass
by
when
I
was
bonking
on
a
hill
and
didn’t
get
my
camera
in
7me.
82. Addenda
See
the
following
presenta7ons
for
addi7onal
photos
from
the
Cuban
transporta7on
system
o hjp://www.slideshare.net/LewisThorwaldson/
cuba-‐cars-‐2015
o hjp://www.slideshare.net/LewisThorwaldson/
cuba-‐buses-‐stops-‐2015
o hjp://www.slideshare.net/LewisThorwaldson/
cuba-‐trucks-‐2015
o hjp://www.slideshare.net/LewisThorwaldson/
cuba-‐bikes-‐etc-‐2015
