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Hauliers give M6 Toll a miss
Page 5
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• Barely one third of hauliers are planning to use the new M6 Toll Road, claiming their businesses would be harmed if they spent money on its crippling charges.
The figures, produced by the Freight Transport Association in its latest Quarterly Transport Activity Survey, indicate that 65% of operators would refuse to use the new road—even in the rush hour.
The tolls have been pegged at £10 per truck, dropping by only 11 at night, compared with a rate of just £2 for cars. Hauliers had hoped that the rates would be sufficiently low to offer a viable alternative to the horribly congested M6.
The FTA research suggests that if the price were dropped to £5, then double the number of operators would use the road—generating more revenue for the road's opera • tor, Midland Expressway Limited
( MEL) than the £10 fee.
An FTA spokesman adds: This begs the question that if MEL has done the same research that we have and achieved the same results, then why doesn't it cut the price? Is it because It doesn't want the trucks on the road?"
This is a view echoed by Staffordshire operator Barry Proctor, who adds: "The pricing structure suggests it doesn't want trucks on there for whatever reason. We won't be using it. " A spokesman for MEL says the £10 toll represents good value for money and will offer an alternative to the current M6.