Is there a fee for transporting trucks along federal routes?

Every driver who travels outside of Moscow knows firsthand about the state of the roads. Broken lines, the absence of bumpers, lighting - this is a cruel reality, with which the state decided to still fight. True, such a method of struggle, as the fare for trucks on federal routes, is very controversial. He caused a flurry of criticism and mass protests of drivers.

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The habit of the population to rely on maybe worked in this sad case. Introducing a similar system was in the plans of officials a few years ago.

Not hearing the murmurings and protests, discussions by the public and profiling organizations, the authorities still introduced the "Plato" system into reality.

Its meaning - the introduction of fare for trucks, the tonnage of which exceeds 12 tons. And here we are not talking about a colossal gathering, because representatives of the authorities operate with such figures as 1.53 rubles per kilometer. Considering the distances that truckers are passing to bring their cargo to the destination, it can be noted that the profit of carriers is significantly reduced.

In addition, the fare for trucks along federal routes will increase steadily. By March, it will be 3.06 rubles per 1 km, and this is not the limit on which the government counts.

The reaction of society

Naturally, any attempt at people's pockets can not but arouse indignation. Even a high level of trust in the government and its actions in this case was not enough. The population, realizing that the new tax would affect everyone in one way or another, actively discussed the problem and a new law on the introduction of truck fares. Someone, realizing the necessity of creating a normal transport infrastructure, supports the actions of the authorities, the same ones who will give money for this from their own pocket are genuinely indignant.

As usual, the most violent protests arose in social networks and on thematic forums. All these unrest, after all, led to protests in the streets. Massiveness did not happen, since the owners of vehicles, which fall under the category of heavy trucks and companies engaged in cargo transportation, came to them.

Protests truckers

The end of 2015 was marked not by preparation for the New Year celebrations, but by serious unrest.

"Plato" forced truckers to rise from all regions. And if large companies talk about lower incomes and difficulties, then small and medium-sized business players claim that such a system is capable of destroying them.

Currently, the conflict situation is far from being settled in all regions. Some participants in the process decided to temporarily retreat in order to create an effective organization that will defend their interests at the highest level. Some still believe that the fare for trucks over 12 tons is unfair, and seek its complete elimination.

Underwater rocks

In fact, every resident of the country is interested in raising living standards and social standards. Everybody wants quality medicine, real help from representatives of the housing and communal services and, naturally, normal roads. What is the problem then, and why did Plato cause such a resonance in the society?

The fact is that truckers do not see the result and prospects in the new bill. On their shoulders, a transport tax has been levied, as well as a road maintenance fee charged in the cost of fuel. Adding a new collection, and in such a huge amount, in their opinion, will not fix the situation for the better, but will become a new means for enriching the powers that be.

A direct scandal was the direct attitude of the oligarch, close to the presidential administration, Igor Arkadievich Rotenberg. This person is the main shareholder of the company that regulates the activities of "Plato". The profit that the organization will receive when the fare for trucks along federal routes starts to flow into the accounts is estimated at billions of rubles.

Government response

The state could not ignore or stop the protests. And it is unlikely that this would be a reasonable action in conditions of instability and general heat of passions. As a result, representatives of transport companies and officials have met once and on some issues they managed to reach a compromise.

Deputies have drafted and submitted to the Duma for consideration bills that will help resolve disputes. At the moment, the government managed to achieve the main thing - massive indignations have subsided, all have died down and expect fulfillment of the promises of officials regarding the revision of particularly acute issues.

Everyone is wondering whether the charging for truck lodging will be postponed, and how long the moratorium will last. The drivers themselves are forced to set a period of three years.

Main results of negotiations

Participants in the conflict managed to achieve little. Fares are charged. However, according to representatives of the company-manager who serves the system, problems in the work of "Plato" are eliminated.

Many drivers noted that the system automatically debited from the carrier's account the amount not at the announced price of 1.53 rubles, and the maximum, put into the program - 3.73 rubles per 1 km. This amount was calculated and incorporated in the law on the charging of truck fares after the calculation of the basic calculations and is based on a growing inflation index.

Nevertheless, the positive result was the decision to review the penalties for non-payment of duties. Initially, they were 5,000 rubles for the driver himself, 40,000 for his manager and 450,000 for legal entities. Such colossal amounts are being revised. To date, it has been proposed to reduce them to 5 and 10 thousand rubles for individuals and legal entities, respectively, and so far do not charge fines from drivers of vehicles.

In addition, according to the decree of the president of the country, V. V. Putin, it was decided, from April 1, to abolish the transport tax for car owners with a weight of 12 tons or more. Also, there is an offer to put the system into test mode for a period of one year. Such a measure will help to understand the operation of the system, establish mechanisms and fix the flaws.

Consequences for the population

Those who criticize outraged warriors, can not always calculate the consequences of the actions of the authorities. Russia is a huge country, and goods of daily demand are most often delivered by land transport. The direct result of the increase in costs of carriers is the raising of their prices. As a result, the load of the new tax will partially or completely fall on the shoulders of the final consumer.

Everyone will be able to see it when prices on store shelves increase substantially. According to various sources, the rise in price may reach 30%, in addition, this will further increase the growth of inflation, which in 2015 was 15.6%.

Another important point is the refusal of some carriers to work in such conditions. To the end user, this threatens to reduce the range of products and goods, especially those that are transported from remote locations.

What awaits the business of transporting goods with the introduction of a new law?

The fare for transportation of trucks on federal routes will hit most hard on business. First of all, all owners of vehicles are obliged to install special equipment in their cars. These are GPS-navigators that will track the movement of the machine, and based on the received data, the system will raise funds.

"RT-Invest Transport Systems" is a company that deals with organizational and financial issues, regulates "Plato". Its managers report that for the time being more than 600,000 vehicles have been registered in the system, which is more than half of their total in the country.

According to their data, the situation is stable and quite optimistic, there are no serious disruptions in the work and in general there are no problems. But at the same time, the leaders of large logistics companies and companies involved in the transportation of goods, note that they encountered some difficulties. Trading networks are already experiencing serious interruptions in supply, and this is only the beginning.

The main problem is that private carriers and small organizations simply refuse to leave because of a lack of understanding of the operation of the system or disagreement with its conditions. In some regions, the reduction in the supply of transportation services reaches 40%.

On a global scale, this threatens the loss of trade turnover, unemployment and a decrease in the receipts of taxes to the budget.

To be or not to be?

All these disturbances affect the fact that many people accept the idea with hostility. It is necessary to understand that when a fee is introduced for the transportation of trucks along roads, this will be a good help for creating new, better highways.

The doubts of carriers about the targeted use of the money they have seized are fully justified. That is why the proposal to first make roads of high quality, and then take a tax for their use, sounds very logical. If such a scheme can be realized, doubts of skeptics will disappear, and eventually all will get used to the new rules.

Experience of other countries

Of course, such an idea is not an invention of the Russian government. It is borrowed outside the country. Successful experience in this field abroad justifies the desire to copy such actions "from us." Truck fares in Europe are charged in many countries. However, the payment system is not always the same. Somewhere it is a duty for every kilometer, somewhere you need to pay once for a certain period (year, month) and you can go as long as you want.

In a number of countries, the authorities have gone even further by introducing fare on passenger cars or by raising the rates for entry into the city limits or tunnels.

The fare for trucks in Germany has been around for many years. But the country still keeps quotations in terms acceptable to the European citizen. Nevertheless, the authorities are pleased with this collection, because it helps to collect more than 4 billion euros annually.

What will be next?

It is not advisable to expect that the government will abandon its plans. The payment for roads will be, and this fact is beyond doubt. But at the same time, society must insist on its own and achieve transparency in the collection of money, as well as their subsequent development.

Guided by the experience of other countries, it is quite possible to obtain adequate solutions from the authorities. A vivid example of this - drivers of cars in Germany, who persistently resist the introduction of tolls on the routes. They get it because of an active civic position.