from a special correspondent Bus and train fares for London commuters over the past years have been caught in a seemingly endless upwards spiral. The constant pressure from the Conservatives for a "realistic" fare structure has never been countered by a comprehensive socialist plan for transport. In Cuba, however, the matter has already moved irreversably past mere talk as the following article shows.
HAVANA - On Aug. 1 a number of measures went into effect in the capital of revolutionary Cuba to improve bus service, Formerly bus fare had been 8 centavos fi centavo = 1 U.S. cent/. A transfer cost 2 centavos. The fare is now a straight 5 centavos and transfers have been eliminated. For many bus riders this meant an immediate saving. Besides transfers, the issuance of tickets has been eliminated. You simply drop a 5-centavo piece in a coin box, The number of workers on the buses was cut in half, all conductors being shifted to other jobs or placed on the retirement list. Bus drivers are not required to give change or even to demand payment. This is left up to the control of the passengers. While waiting at a bus stop they must arrange with each other to make change. Four people can enter a bus by dropping a 20-centavo piece in the coin box. If a passenger does not pay, the other passengers are asked to call the oversight to his attention. If he refuses his name can be cited at his place of work for morel censure. Stops for buses are now mandatory at every designated bus stop. These are about five blocks apart. By the end of August, the improvements had worked out so well that Havana residents were under the impression that many more buses had been added to the fleet. Schedules were being followed much more rigorously and because ‘of the speedier service the buses seemed less jammed. Still more surprising, it was discovered that the number of people using bus service had increased considerably, the increase oscillating between 150,000 and 200,000 daily. The 3,765 conductors suffered no loss inasmuch as their wages were guaranteed until they found other jobs. The Aug. 22 Granma reported that 3,264 were already in other occupations. The remainder were either on vacation or had taken out retirement.
Besides lowering bus fares in Havana, Cuba's revolutionary government has instituted another highly subversive innovation - free public telephones. The Ministry of Communications announced the new benefit to the people on July 17. Telephone workers began rewiring the coin boxes the same day and by July 26, the fourteenth anniversary of the famous attack led by Fidel Castro on the Moncada barracks, the changeover had been completed throughout the island. Now when you want to make a local call from a public telephone in Cuba, you don't start by fumbling for a coin; you just lift the receiver off the hook and dial the number you want.