Actions demand the cancellation of parking fines applied since June in Niterói

• Mercocidades announcement: The Mayor of Niterói announces the creation of a school for public security officials
• Routes to Niterói: Public safety debate focuses on role of technology and integration in reducing crime

According to the action, after a court decision that suspended the collection of the Post-Use Tariff (PUT) for rotating parking, in June, fines quadrupled in the city. In May, 3,867 offense notices were recorded. The following month, this number increased to 14,873. In July, it reached its maximum: 17,846 fines, the highest monthly rate in ten years. “The exponential increase in fines is not a simple statistical coincidence, but rather a direct response to the court decision that reduced the dealership’s revenues,” the document states.

In response to the question asked by the parliamentarian, Niterói Rotativo states that it works within all legal parameters and that, until April this year, it suffered from a 50% evasion in the payment of contributions. He also affirms that the changes in force are within the rules and aim to balance this scenario. According to director Fernanda Krykhtine, after the changes in pricing, non-payment for parking fell to 20%.

— All our data is verifiable. But what is happening in Niterói is that there is unfortunately a culture of non-payment for the use of spaces. And this has caused us huge losses over the years, she says.

The action also showed that virtually all fines related to rotational parking are issued by a single traffic officer. According to the document, the employee, who is a municipal public ranger, was appointed in June to the commissioned position of head of the moving and auction department at NitTrans, accumulating duties that the suit alleges are incompatible.

• Education: Musical education is growing in Niterói and gaining diversity

According to the advisor, the analysis of the offense reports revealed situations which raise doubts as to the physical presence of the agent at the scene of the offense. There are records of fines applied at the same minute in points distant from the city, such as Avenida Prefeito Sílvio Picanço and Rua Doutor Herotides de Oliveira, separated by 6.5 kilometers. In other cases, the interval between fines in different districts is only one minute.

It also cites employee work schedules that exceed 14 hours per day, including weekends, which is considered “humanly impossible” to reconcile with the duties of the commissioned position.

— I have asked all my advisors to verify the information on this matter. And we noticed that this official is fining people at the same times, but in distant neighborhoods. Additionally, some users are fined 50 or more. We demand the cancellation of all fines imposed during this period, Saad said.

• New Year’s Eve in Niterói: Ludmilla and Nando Reis are confirmed on Icaraí beach

On this point, the company manager states that the employee mentioned in the action performs the function of analyzing all the fine data that arrives at Niterói Rotativo and, for this reason, his registration number appears in several documents.

— In any business, private or public, people have roles. And it analyzes the data collected on the streets and checks whether the fines comply with the legislation, and only then it records the offense in the system. There is no gap in function. Our attention is also drawn to the fact that the councilor took to social networks and asked users not to pay the fine. This only harms the user, who may even lose the right to drive – criticizes Fernanda.

According to Saad, the case that the suit says “revealed the fraudulent scheme” involved a tattoo artist who received fines on the days he worked at his studio on Rua Santa Rosa. However, in one of the fines the location of the offense was Travessa Santa Rosa, 1.4 kilometers away. By checking the geographic coordinates listed in the notice of violation, the complainant noticed that they indicated the driveway and not the street where the vehicle was parked.

In a note, the town hall informed that the fines recorded by the NitTrans agent are based on evidence sent by the Niterói Rotativo dealership, which uses georeferencing equipment to photograph vehicle registration plates. The concessionaire only records the occupation of spaces, and the system automatically generates and transmits reports, with the issuance of fines being the exclusive responsibility of NitTrans, after analysis of the data, in accordance with the Brazilian Highway Code.

Still according to the note, the system, already analyzed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, allows a single agent to formalize evaluations centrally on the basis of these files, without physical presence on the premises. The fact that there is only one registration plate therefore does not constitute an irregularity.

• “Shopping Galinhas”: A year and a half after the top floor fell, find out how the Niterói shopping center is doing

“The inspection is necessary given the history of payment defaults exceeding 50%, which have compromised the contractual balance and motivated the actions of the public prosecutor’s office with the town hall to strengthen the inspection action. All routes served by Niterói Rotativo are duly reported, and it should be noted that users have up to three working days to regularize payment before sending the report to NitTrans. extract from the note.

The town hall also reminds that parking fees have been reduced from R$5 to R$4 per two-hour period, and that payment can be made to uniformed employees, through the application and through the website or WhatsApp. If the driver does not agree with the fine, he can appeal normally to NitTrans headquarters or using the form available on the official website. Finally, according to the town hall, the implementation of the rotating parking system has prevented, in Niterói, what is happening in other cities: the proliferation of the practice of parking paying up to R$50 per space in the streets and the installation of militias paying for this service.