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Video: Electric motorcycles are becoming popular in Cuba in response to the fuel supply crisis
2024 Author: Nicholas Abramson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-10 16:34
Cuba it is an incredible country, but subject to a complex geopolitical situation. As a consequence of the tensions between powers, the island country tends to have certain supply problems. A problem that in terms of fuel is squeezing the population, and that is that the whole country has to operate with approximately one 30% of the normal supply of fossil fuels according to data for the month of September.
This situation is caused by restrictions on Venezuelan exports, the main source of diesel and gasoline for Cuba. The consequence is clear: citizens who cannot move with the usual normality, to which the population is responding with alternative forms of mobility.
200,000 electric motorcycles rolling in Cuba, and with growing demand
No, this time we are not talking about electric scooters, although we are talking about zero-emission mobility. The solution, at least for the moment, are those known in Cuba as 'motorinas', small electric motorcycles.
Most of these electric motorcycles and scooters have been imported from China, a true powerhouse in electric mobility that is making its way in some cases based on demolition prices and on other occasions out of sheer necessity, as is the case.
It is estimated that around 200,000 motorinas are already rolling in Cuba, and no wonder. While in countries like ours we question electric mobility from the prism of direct comparison with its combustion equivalents with autonomy as a Trojan horse, the prevailing need in Cuba neutralizes prejudices and they have embraced these affordable and decisive options.
With an average price of around 2,000 euros, the cheapest small electric scooters are even more accessible than gasoline-powered ones. And no, they may not be prettier, or faster, or have more autonomy than a gasoline one, but they solve the mobility needs of a people that cannot sit idly by.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, appealed to users of this type of vehicle, who have responded voluntarily. Now, a fleet of small electric motorcycle taxi drivers are helping to mobilize those who cannot get around due to the supply crisis.
Beyond the anecdote, electric motorcycles, however modest they may be, respond to some mobility issues with the only impediment being that they need a few hours connected to a socket to recharge their batteries.
A small electric scooter of 2,000 euros will never be a circuit motorcycle that overwhelms us with emotions, but with 50 km of real electric autonomy it is more than enough to cover the trips of most of the inhabitants who work in the same city.
Furthermore, and compared to the same electric solution extrapolated to cars, electric motorcycles spend much less time commuting, take up less space once parked and require only a fraction of energy to complete the journey.
Its efficiency is even higher when we take into account that of these urban displacements, the vast majority are carried out alone, so the energy investment is notably better invested in a motorcycle than in a car.
The biggest problem for those for whom public transport and almendrones do not meet their needs is that motorinas they are not easy to find, nor cheap for the basic income of the Cuban population. That is why the demand for electric bicycles has also skyrocketed.
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