End of tolls in Paraná causes city halls to dwindle

The end of tolls on the roads of Paraná, in November 2021, brought relief to drivers’ pockets. With the end of the concession contracts, however, structural problems on the highways are perceived by users. For cities, the biggest impact is on the end of ISS (Service Tax) transfers, which will reduce municipal collections by R$ 133.6 million.

The city in Paraná that received the most ISS from tolls in 2021 was Ponta Grossa, in Campos Gerais. It was R$ 10.9 million. The amount represents 8% of all ISS collected in the year. The opening of the gates brought layoffs to local workers and less investment in health and social assistance, says the municipal secretary of Finance, Cláudio Grokoviski.

“The expectation is that everything will be resolved as soon as possible, because we all know that the public power cannot manage and maintain the quality services of the highways, given the enormity of the road network”, says the secretary.

Also in Campos Gerais do Paraná, Tibagi, with only 20 thousand inhabitants, received R$ 6.1 million in ISS last year. The amount represents 6% of the entire annual budget of the city, which had to create “revenue recovery actions through tax inspection” to obtain other sources of revenue, according to Joairan Martins Carneiro, municipal secretary of Finance.

No shoulder and third lane, says truck driver

A driver who traveled from Curitiba to Laranjeiras do Sul, in the Midwest, for example, spent R$ 137.40 in fares, round trip, for the 363 km route. Already the truck driver Sandro Mocelin, 46, who travels all over Paraná, used to pay R$ 6,000 a month in tolls.

He complains, however, of lack of shoulder or third lane. “Economically it was good, of course, but if in 25 years they haven’t finished half of the works, imagine now. Holes have always been there, but we don’t have a shoulder or a third lane, there’s nowhere to stop the truck. us, but they don’t support it.”

In the last six months, it is possible to see frequent problems on the roads, says Paraná deputy Arilson Chiorato (PT), coordinator of the Parliamentary Front on Tolls in Paraná.

“There is precariousness and lack of maintenance, potholed roads, lack of tow trucks, ambulances, signaling, which resulted in the death of a driver, due to lack of light in one of the deactivated toll plazas”, he says, referring to an accident in São Luiz do Purunã, on April 13, when a truck hit the walls of the gates.

Parliamentarians asked the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) to review the public notice, which provides for 30-year contracts, which should delay the approval of the new model by at least two months.

The forecast is to have 42 toll plazas (15 new ones) on 3,300 kilometers of state and federal highways that make up the so-called Integration Ring. “The ISS reduction for city halls is minimal compared to the economic damage of exorbitant tariffs”, says Chiorato.

The impact of the proposal is evaluated in a study by the UFPR (Federal University of Paraná), which evaluates the old concession contract, its transition and the new proposal, in addition to presenting the risks and recommendations for the new public notice.

Economist Fábio Scatolin, who participated in the analysis, recalls that in the 1997 concessions, whoever offered the largest investment, by grant, won. “It’s the famous: whoever gives more, gets more”, he says. “As a result, the fare was very expensive and it was like that in the 24 years of the concession, one of the most expensive tolls in Brazil.”

In 2021, the value of the tariff reached R$26 in some sections, a figure that the government intends to reduce by up to 50%. The project foresees investments of R$ 43 billion. The collection is estimated at R$ 164 billion, being R$ 5.4 billion a year, says Scatolin.

“The value of the contribution would return to the concessionaires to assist in the investments made during the contract. However, in the calculation of the tariff, the value of the contribution is included, that is, who will pay the bill in the end is the user.”

In a note, the DER (Department of Roads and Highways) of Paraná reported that traffic conservation and operation services have already been contracted and are in progress, which include conservation, cleaning, signaling, inspection, towing and road safety.

“Services are programmed taking into account the pavement conditions and the daily traffic volume of each section, prioritizing the busiest highways and whose lanes require greater intervention. The contracts also provide for the execution of emergency services, in specific cases” , says the DER note.

The agency reinforces that the traffic inspection “actively participates in the occurrence of fog, fires, accidents and other situations, providing emergency signaling, traffic detours and other support.”

The Ministry of Infrastructure informed, in a note, that the concession project for the private sector is being analyzed by the TCU and that only after the evaluation will it publish the bidding notice, “which foresees about R$ 50 billion in investments in 3.3 thousand kilometers of roads, divided into six lots”.