A new mobile application (apk) for the Android platform was shown by Cuban authorities during the International Transport and Logistics Fair in Havana. The innovation is to instantly inform the citizens of the Cuban capital of urban transport activities, buses, stops and destinations.
The name of the apk is Mobile Web Urbanos and it is available in the Cuban repository of applications apklis. Since its announcement, a total of 121,000 interested parties have downloaded the tool, which weighs in at 56 megabytes and currently has a 2.3 star rating.
Its application, still limited and on an experimental basis, provides reports from 8 bus stations in Havana. These are Alamar, Bahia, Guanabacoa, Guanabo, Palatino, Santa Amalia, Calvario and Playa.
There are complaints from some users from the capital that it is impossible to install the urban mobile network and it is difficult to use it. Experts are yet to speak out to answer customers’ concerns.
An essential alternative at this time
The project was carried out by Geomix, a subsidiary of the Geocuba Business Group and affiliated with the Ministry of Transport in Havana. With a population of over 2 million, the capital of all Cuba has 17 primary bus routes and 114 secondary buses.
There is a shortage of popular means of transportation due to damage to many vehicles and lack of spare parts. It’s a daily struggle for Havana residents who have to wait long hours for traffic to arrive.
Another option for citizens is to pay higher prices to private taxi drivers to travel between remote locations. Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information collects the daily movement of residents traveling within the capital city limits. The agency reported that 87,600,000 Havanans migrated in the first half of 2022.