In Havana, paralyzed by fuel shortages, bicycle delivery workers have become essential for moving goods. Young workers like Yasiel and Marcos transport food, medicines, and packages despite risks and exhaustion. This informal network grew with the energy crisis and now fills the gap left by fuel-dependent vehicles.
Fuel shortages have left Havana practically at a standstill, but a group of bicycle messengers keeps goods flowing. Yasiel, 26, delivers pizzas, medicines, and small packages via WhatsApp for private businesses. Without a self-employment license, he earns more than 5,000 pesos ($10 USD) working 12 hours a day, though he calls it "quite hard".
On Friday night, Yasiel pedaled from Playa to Nuevo Vedado with loaded backpacks, exhausted and asking a customer for water. The company he works for is liquidating merchandise with 15% discounts, up to 25% on frozen items, as people avoid purchases needing refrigeration due to fears of longer blackouts. His deliveries included cans of chickpeas, flour, sardines, tuna, powdered milk, and vegetable oil, but no frozen chicken quarters.
In Telegram groups like Delivery Habana 24/7, workers share routes and warnings about blackouts or closed streets. Marcos, 34, nicknamed El Ruedas and from Banes in Holguín province, has transported food in his bicycle taxi since early February, when gasoline shortages reduced motorized vehicles. He received a $1 tip from an elderly woman, when the U.S. dollar approached 500 Cuban pesos on the informal market.
Risks are plentiful: robberies targeting messengers carrying items paid in foreign currencies, and order cancellations as digital sites limit operations due to the fuel crisis. Landy, 30, coordinates a network of ten messengers via WhatsApp, earning 1,000 to 1,500 pesos per trip. Most are young people, including students and professionals, who value the independence. Platforms like Supermarket have canceled new orders due to limited fuel availability. Despite this, Yasiel plans deliveries for Valentine's Day.
