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Second fall for M6 toll traffic
Page 12
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Traffic using the M6 toll may have
peaked — year-on-year figures are down for the second month running. Guy Sheppard reports.
THE M6 TOLL has suffered its second consecutive drop in monthly traffic following a price increase in June.
Average weekday traffic on the 27-mile motorway slumped nearly 14% in July to 50.279 vehicles compared with the same month last year.
This followed a 4% fall in June after the standard rate for cars increased by 50p to £3.50 and the truck toll rose £1 to nearly £7.
The slump reverses the trend established during the first six months of this year when average weekday traffic increased from 43,255 vehicles to 48,216.
Tom Fanning, MD of M6 Toll operator MEL, says last month's fall is partly explained by highertraffic volumes in July 2004 caused by roadworks on the M6. He adds: "During July this year there was the loss of 10,000 vehicles in one day due to a major road incident on the M6, which was closed for more than four hours, plus there was one less working day compared with last July which has affected our figures."
Since the road opened in December 2003 MEL has consistently refused to reveal the volume of HGVs on the road, saying this information is "commercially sensitive". But a CMinvestigationrevealed the road was carrying just 79 trucks an hour (CM24 February).
The slump comes as the government presses ahead with proposals to extend the road. But the National Alliance Against Tolls says the M6 and other roads in the West Midlands remain congested because most drivers avoid tolls.