Ten years have passed since the M6 Toll road opened to drivers, leading the Campaign for Better Transport to announce that the road has produced no net benefit to drivers in the last decade.

The group says that patronage on the new route has fallen steadily year on year since 2006, whereas daily traffic levels on the un-tolled M6 have increased.

It adds that the M6 Toll has never come close to predicted traffic levels of 75,000 vehicles a day. In 2012 the average number of users was, it says, below 30,000 a day.

Campaign for Better Transport’s roads and sustainable transport campaigner Sian Berry said: “Toll roads don’t work and the experience with the M6 Toll proves as much. Despite massive environmental damage and increased noise and air pollution the supposed benefits for drivers have not materialised.”

She added that the Government should have “learned the lessons of the M6 Toll” before proposing new tolled roads, such as the A14 plan which was dropped last week by the National Infrastructure Plan.

M6 Toll chief executive Tom Fanning responded: “It is complete nonsense to suggest that the toll road is a failure. Since opening over 150 million transactions have taken place. Customers choose to use our service to bypass Birmingham because they value their time and they know that our charges represent value for money.”

(Photo: John Barrett)

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