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YOUR VIEWS ON THE M6 TOLL ROAD
Page 16
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Like most issues affecting the haulage industry, large and smaller operators are polarised over the issue of the M6 Toll Road.
"I would never choose it just to save 10 minutes," says container subbie Mark Robinson. He would only consider it if he was carrying a time-sensitive delivery but after being charged £35 by Midland Expressway (MEL) for running on seven axles, he does his best to avoid it Robert Field, transport manager at Lutonbased Peter Field Transport says: "It's just uneconomical. If the driver goes down there, he'll have to pay for it out of his own pocket." Field explains that most of the company's fleet runs early in the morning, thus avoiding peak time congestion on the M6. However, Barry Proctor, for Stoke-based Barry Proctor Services, describes the road as "very, very handy". He says: "You save a lot of time. We have had toll tags from day one. We weren't happy with the price going up. If it went up any more we would have to look at it."
Supply chain management operator TDG says it does use the toll road, but only at the discretion of its transport planners: "It very much depends on the operation," explains a spokeswoman. "Some deliveries are time sensitive, and the journeys are carried out when the roads are busy, so in these instances, we would use the road. Obviously, if we're moving freight about at night or during other periods when the roads are quieter, we'll avoid the road."