Motorists told M6 toll road is 'failure'

The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has blasted the M6 toll road as a means of controlling congestion, branding the idea as a "failure".

It was noted in the latest report from the organisation that its operator Midland Expressway has lost in excess of £26 million over the course of the project, with drivers shying away from paying between £5 and £10 to drive its 27-mile length between 07:00 and 23:00 (BST) each day.

The CBT report noted that in the spring of 2006, just under 60,000 drivers a day used the route, though this fell to just over 40,000 at the beginning of 2010.

It also claimed that the Highways Agency has been "forced to allocate hundreds of millions of pounds for additional capacity".

The CBT added: "Toll roads are not, and will never be, a solution to congestion on Britain's roads, no matter how attractive they may appear to cash-strapped politicians desperate to deliver otherwise unaffordable road schemes."

Petitioning for better public services, the CBT promotes the growth of railways to tackle overcrowding, while also giving the thumbs-down to the widening of motorways.