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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Tamlyn Jones

Prices to rise on M6 Toll

Prices are set to rise next month on the M6 Toll motorway.

Its owner Midlands Expressway said the cost of using the road would increase by between 10p and 50p depending on the type of vehicle used and time of journey.

The changes will come into effect on the morning of Friday July 12.

Midlands Expressway said the new pricing structure followed a series of product trials over the past year to introduce a wider range of options for local users.

Prices will rise between 10p and 30p for motorbikes and cars, between 10p and 50p for light goods vehicles and between 20p and 50p for heavy goods vehicles, depending on the time of travel.

Current prices range from £1.50 for motorbikes up to £11.50 for large lorries and even more for abnormal loads.

In addition, M6 Toll is launching a new off-peak rate for weekdays between 5am and 7am and 7pm and 11pm.

There will also be three new passes - known as Hopper, Shuttle and Return Pass - which will offer discounts of up to 35 per cent to regular users.

The M6 Toll, which opened in 2003, runs from Cannock in Staffordshire to Coleshill, east of Birmingham, and provides an alternative to the M6 through the Black Country and West Midlands, a road known for its congestion, especially at peak times.

Midlands Expressway’s chief executive Andy Cliffe said: "Since 2014, we've seen a 14 per cent increase in trucks using our road - a recent industry study of HGVs shows that the M6 Toll is a safer road for travel than the M6, owing to a much lower accident rate and, with better fuel economy due to free-flowing traffic, HGV users also benefit from reduced fuel costs and emissions.

"We're committed to making our route stress-free and reliable for all, that's why we've put customer feedback at the heart of our new off-peak price bands and our recent product trials to cap prices for local drivers, ensuring we maximise the positive impact of the M6toll across the Midlands and beyond."

In 2017, the 27-mile road was sold to IFM, the Australian pension fund which co-owns East Midlands Airport.

And a year earlier, there were calls from politicians and business owners to make the road free of charge at times of extreme congestion after a fatal car crash on the M6 in February 2016 brought the region's motorway network to a virtual standstill for 24 hours.

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