New prices for the M6 Toll will result in vans and trucks paying up to 50 pence more, and cars up to 30p more, from midnight, Friday, July 12.
The new toll prices, announced today (Wednesday, June 12) by the M6 toll operator Midland Expressway, will however, include an additional off-peak rate. It will apply to drivers using the road on weekdays from 5am to 7am and 7pm to 11pm.
Midland Expressway says the new off-peak rate is designed to keep prices attractive for all road users and will enable on-going investment in the M6 toll.
Midland Expressway chief executive, Andy Cliffe, said that since 2014 the operator had seen a 14% increase in trucks using the road.
“Our prices and the structured deals we offer based on travel frequency have been carefully designed to ensure that the road remains attractive to HGV businesses of all sizes, and that they continue to feel the operational value of using the road,” he explained.
“A recent industry study of HGVs shows that the M6 toll saves significant time and offers better fuel economy due to free-flowing traffic.
“It is a safer road for travel than the M6 owing to a much lower accident rate, and HGV users also benefit from reduced fuel costs and emissions.
“We remain committed to increasing the volume of HGV traffic using the road by ensuring that our incentives for new HGV customers and our bespoke pricing deals for commercial operators are attractive and innovative, so we can continue to maximise the positive impact of the M6 toll across the Midlands and beyond.”
The M6 toll is Britain’s only major toll road and only privately funded motorway. It stretches for 27 miles from Junction 11a on the M6 near Cannock, Staffordshire, to Junction 3a of the M6 at Coleshill, Warwickshire.
It was built to move long-distance traffic off the heavily congested M6 through Birmingham and currently carries around 50,000 vehicles per day at an average of 18.2 million users a year.
At peak times, up to 55% of trucks and 85% of cars making long-distance journeys through the M6 corridor use the M6 toll.
New M6 toll prices
From midnight on Friday, July 12, prices will rise between 10p and 30p for motorbikes and cars, between 10 and 50p for light goods vehicles and between 20p and 50p for heavy goods vehicles, depending on the time of travel.
Tiered pricing
Weekday pricing will change from the current day and night rates to include an additional off-peak discounted rate for drivers travelling on Monday to Friday from 5am to 7am and 7pm to 11pm.
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
the engineer - 13/06/2019 12:04
It does seem that the main users now are people like me who's company is willing to cover the cost as my time is money and so drivers are fairly ambivalent to rises. But there will come a point when they push their luck too far and companies start baulking at letting drivers claim it, that and the M5/M6 work eventually moving on making it a viable route again. Reap while you can M6 toll, its not going to last!