Call for M6 Toll to be taken over

Campaigners against road tolls have called for the M6 Toll to be taken over by the Highways Agency.

The National Alliance Against Tolls (NAAT) said motorists were avoiding the road, leaving it virtually empty.

A spokesman for the group said traffic levels were down 13% compared with the same time last year.

Operator Midland Expressway Ltd said roadworks on the main M6 last year had prompted drivers to use the toll road, which made comparing rates difficult.

'Worst year'

Quarterly figures released on Friday revealed a downturn in daily traffic on the toll road compared with 2007's figures.

Midland Expressway Ltd reported average daily traffic rates of 41,635 for the period April 2008 to June 2008, a 13.2% drop on traffic levels in the same quarter last year.

The NAAT said average traffic rates from July 2007 to June 2008 showed the road had experienced its worst year for traffic levels since it opened.

But Midland Expressway Ltd said some of last year's daily traffic rates were "positively impacted" by roadworks on the M6 motorway from October 2006 to July 2007.

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M6 Toll
National Alliance Against Tolls
Highways Agency
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