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The Ciclobús, an adapted bus that transports passengers and their vehicles through the Havana Bay Tunnel, has become Cuba’s most essential means of transport during the worst fuel crisis the country has faced in decades, according to APPNEWS. The service, which covers 3 kilometers in 15 minutes through an underwater passage between Old Havana and the eastern zone, transports more than 2,000 people per day and charges between 2 and 5 Cuban pesos per trip. The energy blockade imposed by the Trump administration since January has rationed gasoline to 20 liters per vehicle in a scheduling process that can take weeks.
A diesel bus that crosses an underwater tunnel in Havana Bay has become the most essential transport in Cuba amidst the worst fuel crisis the island has faced in decades. The Ciclobús, as it is called, carries about 60 passengers per trip along with their bicycles, scooters, and electric motorcycles through a 3-kilometer underwater passage that connects Old Havana to the eastern part of the city, where hundreds of thousands of people live. The streets of the Cuban capital are almost deserted of cars, but filled with thousands of bicycles and small electric motorcycles that have become the only means of locomotion.
The reason is simple and brutal: there is no gasoline. The energy blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump in January 2026 forced Cuba to ration gasoline to just 20 liters per vehicle, in a scheduling process so complex that it can take weeks or even months for each driver to refuel. The result is that public transport has practically stopped, taxis have become inaccessible for most, and the population that needs to work on the other side of the city depends on the Ciclobús to cross the bay that divides Havana in two.
What is the Ciclobús and how does the underwater crossing work
The Ciclobús is owned by Havana’s state-owned transport company and operates in an unusual way: half of the bus has conventional seats and the other half is an open cargo compartment where passengers enter via a ramp and stand next to their bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters, holding onto handrails fixed to the walls. The 3-kilometer journey through the tunnel takes about 15 minutes.
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The fare ranges from 2 to 5 Cuban pesos depending on the type of vehicle transported — a tiny fraction of a US dollar at the informal exchange rate. For comparison, a shared taxi ride for the same route costs 1,000 Cuban pesos, and a Cuban worker can earn 7,000 pesos per month (about US$14). The Ciclobús is, therefore, the only financially viable option for most of the population living in the eastern zone and working in Old Havana.
Why the Ciclobús has never been as essential as it is now
The service has existed since the 1990s, when it emerged during the so-called “Special Period,” the crisis caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union that left Cuba economically isolated. President Fidel Castro distributed Chinese-made bicycles to the population, and the Ciclobús was created to transport these vehicles through the tunnel which is closed to bicycles and motorcycles. Over time, the service lost relevance as regular buses and taxis returned to circulation.
Now, history repeats itself in an aggravated version. Trump’s energy blockade cut between 80% and 90% of Cuba’s oil imports, and the scarcity of fuel paralyzed public transport and taxis that made most trips in Havana. The Ciclobús, which in recent years transported few passengers, once again had organized queues at the entrance of the tunnel, with dozens of people waiting to board with their two-wheeled vehicles.
The people who depend on the crossing to survive
Ingrid Quintana, a resident of East Havana who works in the old part of the city, explained the situation to the Associated Press: “My husband has a bicycle, so I’m going as a companion. It’s an option we have, because there’s no public transport and we can’t afford a taxi.” The trip on the Ciclobús is uncomfortable — passengers cross in the darkness of the underwater tunnel holding their bicycles — but it’s the only affordable way to cross the bay.
Bárbaro Cabral, a 32-year-old physical education teacher, held his bicycle as the Ciclobús filled up: “Most jobs are on the other side, in the city.” The land alternative is to go around the bay for 16 kilometers of industrial port roads with precarious paving, a route that by bicycle takes more than an hour under the Caribbean heat. The tunnel shortens the distance to 3 kilometers and eliminates the risk of cycling on unlit roads without shoulders.
The fuel crisis that transformed Havana into a city of bicycles
The streets of Havana visibly changed in 2026. Where classic 1950s American cars, shared taxis, and crowded buses once circulated, now bicycles, electric tricycles, and scooters predominate, imported from China, which have become the capital’s main means of transportation. Gasoline rationed to 20 liters per vehicle means that even those who have a car cannot use it for daily commutes.
The energy crisis in Cuba in 2026 is the most severe since the Special Period of the 1990s, and for many Cubans, it’s worse. Blackouts of 12 to 20 hours a day affect various regions of the country, hospitals operate with precarious generators, and the cold chain for food and medicine regularly collapses. The Ciclobús, with its modest capacity of 2,000 passengers per day, is a partial solution to a problem affecting millions of people.
What the Ciclobús reveals about Cuban resilience
The Ciclobús is not cutting-edge technology nor a planned solution: it’s an emergency adaptation that works because it needs nothing more than diesel for a single bus and the willingness of passengers to travel cramped in the dark with bicycles leaning against the wall. It is a symbol of resilience that Cuba has learned over six decades of embargo, a period in which the island transformed limitation into improvisation — from American cars kept alive with handmade parts to healthcare systems that operate with minimal resources.
For the world watching from outside, the Ciclobús is also a reminder that an energy crisis is not an abstract concept: it’s real people waiting in line under the heat to load their bicycle inside a bus because the gasoline ran out. The dependence on imported oil has transformed Cuba into an involuntary laboratory of what happens when fuel supply is cut off, and the images of Havana emptied of cars and taken over by bicycles are the most concrete portrayal of the effects of the energy blockade on daily life.
Can you imagine your city without gasoline and everyone using bicycles to go to work, or do you think this only happens in Cuba? Tell us in the comments what you would do if your city’s fuel was rationed to 20 liters and public transport stopped working.
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