Cuban drivers are facing long delays to refuel their cars as fuel shortages intensify on the island, with residents in Havana telling The Associated Press that Cuba’s government-run app for gasoline appointments is booking slots weeks or months in the future. The government introduced the Ticket app, according to AP, as a way to reduce chaos outside gas stations, but drivers said the system is still leaving many customers waiting far longer than expected.
The AP report said Ticket is obligatory for drivers seeking refueling appointments and is operated by XETID, a state-owned software firm. Drivers in Havana described gaps between the appointment they expected to get and the dates they were offered through the app, including Jorge Reyes, 65, who downloaded Ticket on Monday and said he had “(appointment) number seven thousand and something.”
Reyes said he signed up to refuel at a gas station that was awarding 50 appointments per day, leaving him asking when he would be able to buy gas again. “When will I be able to buy gas again?” Reyes said, describing the problem of a limited daily number of slots combined with a long queue of users already in the system.
AP said Ticket allows drivers to sign up for appointments at only one gas station at a time. On WhatsApp groups, drivers have been sharing which locations might be less crowded or which stations can serve more customers, with AP noting that some locations were awarding up to 90 appointments per day, even as those lists did not ease concerns for drivers who said they were far back in line.
The report also described how Cuba’s broader fuel pricing and rationing rules are weighing on drivers. AP said the government has stopped selling gasoline in local currency at subsidized rates of about 25 cents per liter and is now selling gasoline at higher prices in U.S. dollars, with a liter selling for $1.30 at gas stations and sometimes costing far more in the black market. When drivers eventually reach a station, the AP report said they are allowed to buy 20 liters of gasoline, about 5.2 gallons, and included comments from businessman Ariel Alonso about how he planned to hold back fuel for emergencies.
AP said XETID said the app has been in use for three years and was previously used for appointments at notaries and at gas stations where customers could pay in local currency. The AP report said Ticket is now nearly the only way for regular vehicles to refuel without going to the black market, while tourism-industry vehicles are treated as an exception and can refuel at 44 service stations with special license plates—though AP said they are still limited to buying 20 liters.
The shortages are unfolding alongside wider energy constraints in Cuba, AP reported, including intensifying fuel shortages and blackouts. In late January, AP said U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on nations that sell oil to Cuba, as Washington steps up efforts to pressure the communist government to make economic and political reforms, and AP said Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has said he is willing to negotiate with the U.S. “as equals” and without relinquishing sovereignty, while accusing the U.S. of staging an “energy blockade.”
AP also described how Venezuela stopped selling crude to Cuba in January, and that Mexico cut off oil shipments in January after the U.S. tariff threat. The report said banks on the island reduced working hours to save electricity, and that Cuba said it would not provide fuel to planes that land on the island, prompting three Canadian airlines to cancel flights, with others making refueling stops in the Dominican Republic.
AP further reported that the fuel and electricity problems have affected other events as well, including postponements of a book fair and an annual cigar trade fair. The report said that last week a group of United Nations human rights experts condemned the U.S. oil siege, saying it has “no basis on collective security and constitutes a unilateral act that is incompatible with international law.”