Drivers face higher charges to use M6 Toll
DRIVERS using the £900m pay-to-drive M6 Toll can expect to pay more for the service after the company operating the 27-mile route announced its sixth price increase since the road’s opening.
From March 1, car drivers will have to pay £5.30 if they travel the full distance during a week-day – an increase of 30p, while lorry drivers will have to pay £10.60 for peak-time travel – an increase of 60p on the current price. Prices vary off-peak between evenings and weekends.
Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL), the road operator, said the rises were in line with inflation and the recent VAT increase.
Tom Fanning, MEL chief executive, said “The M6 Toll continues to provide the strategic route through the Midlands, offering an excellent driver experience and the reliability that our customers require and demand.
“Following the recent 2.5% VAT increase, we are making a necessary adjustment to our toll rates. The toll increase of 3.5% is in line with inflation. The M6 Toll continues to offer real value for money for the certainty and reliability which we deliver.
“We continue to offer all customers a 5% discount per trip through the use of an electronic tag. With this, a £5.30 trip would cost only £5.04.”
Mr Fanning said the company was unable to absorb the VAT increase because such a move would cost the firm around £1m a year in lost revenue.
Critics of the road, which bypasses the M6 between Cannock and Coleshill, said the move would mean even fewer motorists using the route than now, especially with fuel prices rising to record highs.
