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P ROAD USER CHARGING Operators reject M6 Toll for

2nd September 2010, Page 8
2nd September 2010
Page 8
Page 8, 2nd September 2010 — P ROAD USER CHARGING Operators reject M6 Toll for
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

already congested M6

christopher.wattonfarbi.co.uk AN ENVIRONMENTAL. lobby group has criticised the operators of the M6 Toll, Midland Expressway, for building a road that has failed to deliver the congestion cuts promised.

A study by the Campaign for Better Transport described the M6 Toll as a -terrible investment, running at a considerable loss-. It claims that HGVs account for 13% of traffic, an average of just 1,750 HGVs per da on the MO Toll compared to 32,400 HGNis using the M6 daily between junctions 3 and 11.

The report says: "Five years after it opened, hauliers have overwhelmingly rejected the MO Toll, choosing instead to remain on the already congested M6." The road opened to traffic. in December 2003 and costs an HGV £10 per journey on weekdays The report also cites Department for Transport figures. which show that weekday traffic levels on the M6 were broadly similar in 2009 to 2003.

Simon Chapmari,chief economist at the Freight Transport Association, says: "Paying a premium to use the MO toll is simply less attractive to motorists when times are tough and congestion on the M6 is lower. "The business model of £5 per day for cars and £10 for trucks might have made sense before the recession, but it's not the right formula now. It doesn't really matter whether commercial vehicle operators or private motorists are using the road as long as someone is. If Midland Expressway wants to optimise use of the relief road, it ought to focus on affordability."

The Campaign for Better Transport also says that both the road and its parent company Midland Expressway have failed to make a profit in the past five years It says the failure of the toll road shows that this is not the solution for funding future road building projects.

Midland Expressway was unavailable to comment.