Amid one of the most severe fuel shortages in decades, ordinary Cubans are adapting to life on the island with improvised solutions, with electric tricycles emerging as a critical mode of transportation as gasoline and diesel supplies dwindle. The scarcity, driven in large part by tightened U.S. sanctions and a collapse of traditional oil exports from allied nations, has forced citizens and small business owners alike to abandon conventional cars and taxis for battery-powered three-wheelers that can operate with little to no liquid fuel.
For years, Cuba has grappled with chronic fuel shortfalls, but the situation worsened dramatically after the United States ramped up pressure on Caracas, cutting off the flow of Venezuelan crude to the island. This has been compounded by threats of tariffs on any country that steps in to supply fuel, leaving Havana to ration its limited allocations and sharply curtail public transportation services.
With buses and regular taxis increasingly scarce, electric tricycles have become a familiar sight on Havana’s streets. These vehicles, which are often simpler and cheaper to operate than traditional cars, provide crucial mobility for residents trying to reach work, medical appointments, or essential services. Eduardo Romano, a father of two and one of the many drivers now relying on an e-tricycle, described the new reality as born out of necessity, saying that without these vehicles he would have little means of earning a livelihood.
Yet the pivot to electric transport is not without its own challenges. Power outages — which have plagued the country as generating stations struggle to function without sufficient diesel and fuel supplies — mean that charging the e-tricycles can be unpredictable. In some parts of Havana, blackouts last up to 12 hours a day, forcing drivers to wait for electricity or rely on the generosity of friends with solar panels or personal generators.
The absence of reliable fuel has also had broader economic and social impacts. Public transportation systems in major cities like Havana have nearly ground to a halt due to depleted fuel reserves, leaving residents with few alternatives and in some cases forcing people to quit jobs they can no longer travel to. Secondary effects include rising transportation costs on the informal market, with black-market gasoline reportedly fetching exorbitant prices.
In the provinces beyond the capital, the desperation is striking. In places like Las Tunas, residents are demanding state intervention to control rapidly rising fares as only a fraction of intercity bus routes remain operational due to fuel cuts. Officials have publicly acknowledged that transportation services across the country are functioning with as little as 20 per cent of their usual fuel allocations.
Even aviation has not been spared: international carriers such as Air Canada have been forced to suspend services or reroute flights because jet fuel is no longer reliably available on the island, a development that is hitting tourism — one of Cuba’s key foreign-exchange earners — at a time when it had yet to recover fully from the pandemic downturn.
Despite Cuba’s efforts to promote electric mobility — including policies that permit the importation of electric tricycles and other light vehicles for citizens and the expansion of renewable energy initiatives — the gap between supply and demand remains acute. The electric tricycle, once a niche alternative, has become central to daily life for many, symbolizing both Cubans’ resilience and the profound strain of an energy crisis that shows little sign of abating.
