Detour is also for money: the Platon system is proposed to be introduced on regional highways

And giving the regions the right to independently impose fees and set tariffs is fraught with an increase in the influence of the human factor and, as a result, corruption.

The head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), Alexander Shokhin, proposed to introduce a toll on regional roads at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council. Rationale - heavy goods vehicles choose routes on regional highways to avoid paying for the use of federal roads.

The growth in costs of transport companies will be reflected in transportation tariffs. The increase in the cost of delivery to specific destinations will depend on the length of the route, the share of mileage on regional routes and payment rates.

First of all, short routes will rise in price

Short routes (up to 500 km), the truck can pass partially or completely along regional roads. Now travel through them is free. If the regions introduce tolls for trucks, the cost of transportation will increase. The growth will be more noticeable on routes with a larger share of regional roads. Or in regions where a higher tariff will be set.

For example, from Novosibirsk to Kemerovo, heavy trucks move along the regional highway 50K-19r (32R-67) 260 km. If the average tariff is set at the current federal level - 2.34 rubles. per 1 km of run, the rise in price will be about 610 rubles. With the cost of transportation in the range of 20 thousand rubles. up to 35 thousand rubles. the payment of the tariff of the regional "Platon" will have from 1.7% to 3%.

The cost of long-haul transportation over long distances (from 500 km and more) will grow less significantly. The share of mileage on regional roads in such routes is small. For example, the distance on the Moscow - Vladivostok route is about 9.2 thousand km. Of these, less than 0.5% or 450 km - along regional highways. Everything else is federal.

Transportation of a full truck along this route costs an average of 480-550 thousand rubles. At a rate of 2.34 rubles. for 1 km of run, the rise in price on the Moscow - Vladivostok route will amount to an average of 1.1 thousand rubles. This is about 0.2% of the cost of transportation.

How regional roads are used

The length of federal roads in Russia is almost 10 times less than regional: 57.2 thousand km and 508.2 thousand km, respectively. But, according to Avto-PEK, on average, regional routes account for 10% of a heavy truck's mileage.

Carriers most often use regional highways when exiting the federal road for delivery to their final destination. The second option is if only the regional road passes between the end points of the route.

“Therefore, the argument that carriers leave federal highways for regional ones in order not to pay to Platon is incorrect. Regional highways are not backup to federal ones, ”notes Dmitry Ievlev, General Director of PEC.

The introduction of tolls on regional highways could have other negative consequences for business as well. So, for example, one of the options that are being discussed is to give the regions the right to introduce fees and set tariffs in systems analogous to Platon on their own.

“As a result, we will get a system in each region with its own interface, payment methods and tariffs. This is inconvenient for carriers, it can increase corruption and, in general, the influence of the human factor on the collection rate in the system, ”emphasizes Dmitry Ievlev.

The toll for vehicles with a permissible maximum weight of over 12 tons on federal highways was introduced in November 2015. In total, the Platon system has collected 163.8 billion rubles for the Federal Road Fund. Including in 2021 - 36.8 billion rubles. The money is used to repair and build roads and road infrastructure.