The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed this Thursday (11) a public civil action requesting that the Union and the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) be obliged to immediately adopt regulatory measures and effective application of the so-called Frequent User Discount (DUF) for drivers who pass through the Free Flow toll system.
In the action, the MPF requests the immediate suspension of charges until the proportional rebates are properly implemented. Although the action specifically deals with Via Dutra, the Federal Public Ministry requires that the discount mechanism be extended to all federal highways in the country where the electronic system is in operation.
The Free Flow system went into operation last Saturday (6), with automatic charging gantries installed at several access points to Via Dutra, between the municipalities of São Paulo, Guarulhos (SP) and Arujá (SP).
“The local user of Guarulhos – who uses the route daily for basic subsistence activities (work, study, health, essential services) – supports 100% of the fare on all monthly tickets, including in time slots in which the fare is artificially increased by dynamic traffic management mechanisms”, highlighted Public Prosecutor Guilherme Rocha Göpfert, author of the action.
The MPF highlights that the application of the DUF has been regulated for 30 years for conventional tolls. The objective is to reduce the financial impact for users who make multiple monthly trips, progressively reducing the value of fares, according to the number of passes through the charging booths.
For the Public Ministry, the establishment of discounts on Free Flow models should provide tariff justice, especially in urban areas with a large volume of daily and short trips, such as the Dutra stretch around Guarulhos.
According to the MPF, the omission of the Union and ANTT in regulating the DUF in Free Flow models violates several constitutional guidelines, such as the principles of reasonable tariffs, equality and proportionality. The conduct, according to the agency, also constitutes disrespect for the public duty of adequate regulation of delegated services and the distributive function of the road tariff policy.
The action also contests the claim made by federal agencies and the concessionaire Motiva, which manages Via Dutra, that the progressive discount would be incompatible with Free Flow on the highway.
“The thesis of ‘technical incompatibility’ is not a technical conclusion; it is a political choice of tariff exclusion, evidenced by the fact that comparable regulatory models demonstrate material, contractual and operational viability of the DUF in Free Flow. The existence of this state modeling – in the same geoeconomic environment and under high commuting logic – demonstrates the total viability of the progressive discount in Free Flow”, adds Göpfert.
