Electric tricycle service will reach other capital municipalities
The municipalities of Playa, Plaza de la Revolución and Guanabacoa will benefit from electric tricycles in the coming months.
The engineer Leandro Méndez Peña, general director of the General Directorate of Transportation in the capital, in statements to Tribuna de La Habana reported that, as of August, if no unforeseen events occur, the components will arrive in the country to assemble around 50 electric tricycles, whose circulation is scheduled for the month of September.
Méndez Peña specified that the largest number of these ecological media will be allocated to the municipality of Playa, especially Calle 120, which connects with other areas of the territory and with the municipality of La Lisa, and which, in addition, is a point where routes concur. of gazelles and urban buses.
Likewise, he announced that this will not be the only benefited area, since it is considered to include others such as Santa Fe.
Another 5 teams will be assigned to the Guanabacoa base, inaugurated in June, with the purpose of completing the 25 that correspond to that territory.
He explained that they are evaluating other destinations such as the corridor of Línea Street, one of the main arteries of Havana, which runs through three popular councils of the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, and constitutes a link between the territories of the center and the west of the city. .
In addition, this route that extends from La Piragua to the mouth of the Almendares River maintains a good physical condition, which will contribute to the conservation of the equipment, one of the criteria that is taken into account to select the routes.
At this time we are working on the identification of other areas of the city to be benefited as well.
As other indicators to take into account for this transportation system, he added that they are used to facilitate the internal mobility of the residents, who will be less dependent on buses to move within the municipalities.
The other aspect is related to the electric charge of these means, enough to keep operating for eight hours, with some breaks, in which they return to their bases, where they are recharged at times that do not coincide with the peak of electricity consumption.
The use of electric tricycles in the capital began in 2020 with a base in the municipality of Old Havana.
This mode of transport, with low carbon emissions, was extended in early June 2022 to the municipality of Boyeros, with some 25 ecological tricycles. Later, within the framework of the celebrations for the 468th anniversary of the founding of the Villa de Guanabacoa, which took place on June 12, a new base with these means was inaugurated in the taxi agency number 12, located in the Council Popular D'Beche-Nalón, of this demarcation.
The city's transportation director also clarified the population's concerns regarding the 10 buses donated by Belgium that, since July 4, have reinforced routes P12 and P16.
In this regard, he clarified that the air conditioning systems were not deactivated, but that these were insufficient for our summer temperatures and the continuous deployment of the doors at each stop.
He pointed out that, given this difficulty, five windows will be gradually adapted in the articulated ones, and three in the rigid ones to facilitate natural ventilation, which will also circulate through the hatches located in the roof.
Regarding the absence of reinforcements in the P13, he explained that the routes through which this bus route passes do not have the adequate conditions for the Belgian teams to transit, which, although they are in good technical conditions, are already 14 years old. of exploitation.
"These buses of the German brands Mercedes Benz (articulated) and MAN (rigid), are very comprehensive; they all underwent an exhaustive check-up at the Automotive Technical Review Plant (popularly known as Somaton) and at the terminal where they will serve service.
"In addition, they are more affordable for people with disabilities because they have low and wide steps, and the suspension system of the bus allows it to stick well to the curb. It is an advantage that they have with respect to other previous donations, such as the Japanese, who have high steps," he said.
Méndez Peña announced that another six buses will be incorporated this weekend, for a total of 16 active buses. He highlighted the support of the highest authorities of the capital for the extension project of this economical and non-polluting transportation system to the 15 municipalities.
He commented that this donation was processed by the Ministry of Culture, which is why nine teams were assigned to that sector.
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