Photo: Yury Díaz Caballero
Havana, January 14 (RHC)-- The first pilot station of the Ha Bici - Inteliforja Public Bicycle System was inaugurated Friday at the José Antonio Echeverría Technological University of Havana (known as Cujae), in this capital.
In its test phase, the initiative, which includes a total of 300 bicycles, is part of the Neomovilidad Habana project for the safe use of these vehicles as an alternative and sustainable means of transportation, in order to reduce carbon emissions in the city's urban transportation and contribute to the mitigation of climate change.
Luis Carlos Góngora Domínguez, coordinator of government programs in the province, said that the implementation of the new system, in which the Havana Provincial Transportation General Directorate, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility are participating, is based on the willingness of the territory's authorities to design sustainable local transportation systems.
He emphasized that this decision will allow decongesting the transportation by articulated and rigid buses that cross the city with long routes.
He said that when the pilot test began this Friday at Cujae, the services will start in the on-demand mode at the station located at the university and at the Reloj Club station.
Subsequently, the Wajay, Abel Santamaría, Fontanar and Entronque de la Cujae stations will be added, which will benefit the inhabitants of the area between the municipalities of Boyeros and Marianao, said Góngora Domínguez.
In addition to on-demand rentals, bicycle rental modalities will be offered, both from station to station, as well as free routes with differentiated and accessible rates to the public, and courier services and assisted transportation for people in vulnerable situations will be incorporated, he said.
The coordinator of programs of the Provincial Government expressed the possibility of extending the service to other universities in the capital, such as the Enrique José Varona Pedagogical Sciences University and the University of Havana.
Fernando Hiraldo, resident representative of the UNDP in the Cuba, commented that the Ha' Bici-Inteliforja Public Bicycle System will be operated by the local development project Inteliforja, winner of a bidding process related to this means of transportation, an action that will be developed jointly with the General Directorate of Provincial Transportation in the capital city.
Hiraldo explained that the opening of this first bicycle station contributes to strengthen the links between the public and private sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations until 2030.
The inauguration was attended by Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, Minister of Transport, Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Havana, and Reinaldo García Zapata, Governor of the city, among other authorities of the municipalities of Marianao and Boyeros. (Source: ACN)
