Drivers in Cuba are now facing delays of months to fill their gas tanks due to escalating fuel scarcities stemming from a U.S. oil blockade. In an effort to maintain order outside fueling stations, the Cuban government implemented a requirement last week for motorists to utilize an application called Ticket in order to schedule their refueling times.
However, individuals in Havana informed The Associated Press on Monday that the app is scheduling their appointments several weeks or even months away. "I have appointment number over seven thousand," reported Jorge Reyes, a 65-year-old who installed the app on Monday.
Reyes registered to refuel at a gas station in Havana that only allocates 50 appointments daily. "When will I have the opportunity to purchase fuel once more?" he inquired. The application restricts users to signing up for appointments at one specific gas station at a time. Consequently, through WhatsApp groups, some drivers are exchanging tips regarding locations that may be less busy or gas stations capable of serving more customers, noting that certain sites are providing up to 90 appointments daily.
Nevertheless, this information offers little solace to app users, who discover they could be facing a backlog of up to 10,000 appointments ahead of theirs. Additionally, the Cuban government has ceased selling gasoline in local currency at subsidized prices of roughly 25 cents per liter and is now offering only costlier fuel priced in U.S. dollars. Currently, a liter of gasoline costs $1.30 at the pumps and can reach as high as six dollars on the burgeoning black market.
Moreover, government employees in Cuba earn less than $20 per month when their income in local currency is converted to U.S. dollars at market exchange rates. When drivers finally manage to refuel at service stations, they are permitted to purchase only 20 liters of gasoline, which is equivalent to about 5.2 gallons.
"This won't last me long," remarked Ariel Alonso, a businessman who refueled on Monday at the El Riviera gas station. "I need to keep a five-liter reserve in case someone falls ill at home," he explained, adding that they may need to be rushed to the hospital. The Ticket application is operated by XETID, a government-owned software company.
Last week, the firm's commercial director Saumel Tejada stated on the news platform Cuba Debate that over 90,000 drivers had applied for refueling appointments via the app. Ticket has existed for three years and was initially utilized by Cubans for booking appointments at notaries and at fueling stations where they could pay for gas in local currency.
Currently, it is nearly the sole method for drivers to refuel their vehicles without resorting to the black market. The vehicles used in the tourism sector are an exception.
These cars, which possess distinct license plates, are permitted to refuel at 44 service stations across the island, where lengthy queues have developed. Much like regular vehicles, tourism-related cars can only obtain 20 liters of fuel at a time.
Fuels scarcity and power outages have escalated in Cuba during this month, as the country faces challenges in acquiring oil for its power generation facilities and oil refineries.
At the end of January, U.S. President Donald Trump cautioned that any nation supplying oil to Cuba would face tariffs, as the United States. increases its attempts to compel the island's communist government to implement economic and political changes.
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