‘Laptops’ Now Have a Place on the ‘Little Regla Ferry’ / 14ymedio

The Regla ferry connects that town and Casablanca with Havana across Havana Bay. (14ymedio)
The Regla ferry connects that town and Casablanca with Havana across Havana Bay. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 14 September 2016 — Residents and visitors of Regla and Casablanca can now travel with their laptops on the maritime vessels that connect the historic center of Havana with these two towns. For decades, travelers with computers were obliged to make the trip in buses or cars, due to a prohibition from the authorities.

Several of these boats, known as lanchitas de Regla, were the scenes of immigration incidents prior to the 1994 Rafter Crisis. Controls at the terminals at both ends escalated started at that point and prohibited carrying passengers with scissors, bottles with liquid, cakes for parties, and electronic equipment like laptops.

As of last week, and without the official press having published the information, people with laptops are allowed to board the ferries. One of the employees responsible for inspecting passengers told 14ymedio that “now you can travel not only with one, but with all the computers you want.”

The relaxation happened after a restructuring of urban transport implemented beginning in August. Given the decline in the number of buses now serving the towns of Regla and Casablanca, the authorities have removed what many considered an “absurd prohibition.”