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Criticism grows over M6 Toll road price hike
A West Midlands MEP has called for the M6 Toll road to be nationalised following Midland Expressway’s defence of Monday’s price increases for vehicles using the route.
West Midlands UKIP MEP Mike Nattress, who is a member of the EU’s Transport and Tourism Committee, said: “It is clear this relief road is not being used. Roads such as the A5 and the already traffic-clogged M6 will strain even further to cope as more motorists are priced off the Toll.
“We should not have a Toll at all. The road should be free and should never have been sold to the private sector. The Toll should be nationalised”.
The Birmingham Northern Relief Road, now known as the M6 Toll, was intended to ease pressure on the motorway and trunk road system in the West Midlands. After seven years and six price rises, transport and political leaders are claiming that the £700million road scheme has made the traffic situation worse rather than better.
The new price rises imposed on Monday mean car drivers have to fork out £5:00 to use the road, a rise of 30p. The cost to van and lorry drivers is up by 60p to £10:00.
The Freight Transport Association has said that the latest increase could force haulage firms off the toll road and onto already congested routes and have blasted the increase in costs as “the last thing the commercial vehicle sector need”.
As both commercial and private drivers desert the toll road, traffic on the A5 and the M6 has increased leading to more road misery for both drivers and residents. The FTA said: “The inflation-busting increases being foisted on HGV operators who use the M6 Toll road is bad for business, other motorists and the environment.
“Even more lorries will avoid the £700m plus bypass, adding to congestion on the already over-burdened M6, a strategic gateway for commercial goods vehicle deliveries.”
The private company that operates the toll road, Midland Expressway, have claimed that motorists have “embraced” the concept of paying to use road. Tom Fanning, Chief Executive of Midland Expressway Limited, said: “The M6 Toll opened in late 2003, and still remains the most reliable route through the West Midlands. The announced 2010 tolling programme will allow further investment in delivering an excellent driving experience for the reliable journey on which our customers depend. The M6 Toll remains excellent value for money to avoid the congested M6.”
Mr Nattress said: “If the route is working why are fewer and fewer motorists using this route and why is the road not taking the excess traffic off the M6?
“Why should residents in areas such as Walsall and Great Wryley suffer as a result of the Toll’s failure?”
The latest price rise has also been slammed by Walsall Liberal Democrat leader Ian Shires. He said: “The M6 Toll was originally given the title of Birmingham’s Northern Relief Road and was supposed to relieve pressure on the M6 as it winds its way through the Birmingham conurbation. It has never achieved its aims. It is fast becoming a private road for the rich. The latest price increase will drive more and more ordinary motorists and the few truck drivers onto alternative routes.”