The new rotary parking system provides the end of flannels and electronic payment

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These are some of the everyday incidents of people searching for one of about 28,000 places in public areas in Rio to leave their car. Now, in a new attempt – and there have been many – to curb the irregular practices that have persisted in the city, Mayor Eduardo Paes has approved the project that creates a rotary parking system – the Digital Blue Zone, signed by Councilor Marcelo Diniz (PSD) and 24 co-authors.

Specifically, Deniz states that the use of paper and cash payments in public parking lots will end. He explains that it is up to the City Council to determine how to implement it. One hypothesis is to create an app, as has been done in the southern region of Niterói since 2019. Another is to implement a system with parking meters, as has been done in São Paulo. In both cases, payment must be made electronically: PEX or credit and debit cards. The law also allows the establishment of points of sale, but there is no money in the hands of the trustees.

— Our goal is to put an end to the irregular operation of vanilinhas on the city streets, and to put an end to the extortion carried out by fake guards, who charge exorbitant sums and threaten drivers in different areas of the city. Parking at a venue often costs a price during the day, but on days of events, shows or large crowds, that price balloons to 50 times higher.

Since there are objections by Pais, they will have to be analyzed by council members within 15 days. Only then will the law be regulated by the city council within 30 days.

City Hall reports that “studies will now begin to develop modeling of the project.” The approved law allows the municipality to manage the new system directly or grant it to the private sector. Implementation could also be gradual across city departments. It will also be up to the City Council to determine the value of the tariffs. Deniz hopes the system will be operational in the first half of 2026.

As for the examination, the project allows the use of license plate reading software to determine whether the driver has paid for the space or not. If you do not pay, the program warns you, and the car owner may be fined. By law, existing regular guards can be used for inspection work.

For the new system to be successful, the head of OERJ’s transportation engineering department, Leandro Vaz, believes that it is necessary to have effective supervision:

— May work very well in the southern region, or in some beach locations or tourist attractions. An inspection cycle should be established to monitor who has paid and who has not, whether the service is working and to prevent fraudsters. Flannelette is ingrained in sweeteners, and there is also the issue of fear that it will damage the vehicle.

For Victor Hugo Abreu, a specialist in urban transport planning and professor at Politécnica-UFRJ, the new system has the potential to improve the management of public vacancies in Rio, but its success will depend on some key factors:

— The digital form tends to reduce fraud, increase vehicle turnover and facilitate inspection, as monitoring is now done through integrated applications and systems, eliminating many of the shortcomings of the traditional form. However, it will be necessary to ensure three conditions: a stable technological infrastructure that can be easily accessed by the user; Ongoing supervision, with real ability to report violations; And clear communication with residents regarding rules and payment methods.

According to him, in Cabo Frio and Arraial do Cabo, in the Lagos area, there are digital rotary parking systems.

In the southern region of Niteroi, since 2019, drivers download an app, register their car and a payment method, such as a credit card. When you stop somewhere, the app’s map shows where the driver is. The user then confirms the location, chooses a parking period and purchases the ticket. Spaces cost R$4 for 2 hours. When the time is about to expire, the app notifies you, and the driver can renew it remotely.

Drivers traveling through Rio are torn between a lack of confidence that the future system will actually be effective and hope that it will be a good solution to the current chaos of charging for parking spaces.

Dr. Paula Tatagiba, 28, who usually parks her cars on the edge of the southern region, such as Avenida Atlantica, near Copacabana, and on São Conrado, to enjoy the beach and play soccer, believes electronic billing will work against random variation in prices.

– We have already been charged R$20 for one hour. Some days it’s R$30, some days R$10, and holidays are more expensive… When you have the receipt, in addition to paying the ticket (R$2), the vanilinha asks for an extra amount. You feel forced and you end up paying. But there was a time when I refused to pay the exorbitant amount I was charged, and when I returned, my car had a flat tire. I think the electronic system will reduce this intimidation. – He sees.

For the app driver Jorge Junior, 52, who was parked in a parking space on Rua Gustavo Sampaio, in Leme, on Wednesday afternoon, and who travels frequently around central Rio, the system will not be respected.

– It is a system that will not work for Brazilians, especially in Rio de Janeiro. The flanelinha will continue to charge the amount he wants. In downtown Rio, for example, they feel like they own the streets, as happens in City de Setembro and Buenos Aires. They close the roads, and you can’t park your car unless they let you. A man actually blocked me from parking, saying that the spot belonged to him and that he had another car to park. There are places where the driver pays R$30 a day, and if you want to park for half an hour, or an hour, and pay R$2, you can’t – he complains. -I think installing this system would be a waste of city council money.

Driver José Carlos Nunes, 28 years old, who yesterday occupied a parking lot in the Jardim de Ala area in Leblon, believes that this measure is positive because “it will put an end to direct interaction with vanilla.”

— The electronic system is a really great alternative, because it avoids extortion from flannels. Especially on football match days, big events and at tourist attractions, there is always someone approaching. First they notice. If they see that the person is going to make a mistake, they arrive and charge R$50, or R$60. There are some people who are actually registered by the city council, use a receipt and charge a nominal amount, which will not be missed. But there are others who want to blackmail. It is noted that this is a very annoying situation.

Complaints to the city council

Central 1746 data reveals that complaints about irregular parking of vehicles lead complaints to the service, amounting to 138,168 complaints during the period from January 1 to September 30 of this year, equivalent to 20% of the total complaints. This is an increase of 15% compared to the same period in 2024, when the number of complaints reached 120,249 complaints.