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UKIP welcomes report damning M6 toll

Thursday, 2nd September 2010

UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass has today welcomed the findings of a new report which shows the M6 Toll has proved to be a costly mistake.

A new damning report published this week by the Campaign for Better Transport, says the 27-mile privately financed toll road has been bad news for the West Midlands, bad news for drivers and bad news for investors in the toll.

Looking at a recent Highways Agency report, reports by the Transport Select Committee and annual reports from Midlands Expressway Ltd, the Campaign for Better Transport says the toll failed to improve transport in the West Midlands and failed to deliver value for money to motorists.

The report’s findings come amid EU attempts to grab control over British roads and motorways and force through pay-as-you-go charges to use our roads.

The report states: “Toll roads are not, and will never be, a solution to congestion on British roads, no matter how attractive they may appear to cash-strapped politicians desperate to deliver otherwise unaffordable road schemes.

“Instead of promoting toll roads as a viable alternative to central Government money, the Department for Transport should use what little money remains in its coffers to maintain the roads we have and provide people with viable alternatives to car use.

“As we have seen from the M6 Toll, even a completely unregulated private sector cannot make money from toll roads. A regulated operator with fewer freedoms over the level of charges (as proposed by motoring organisations) would find it even harder to make a profit, unless supported by covert or overt taxpayer subsidies.”

Welcoming the report, Mr Nattrass said: “The report’s findings endorse everything I have said about the M6 Toll since it opened. The toll has been an expensive and embarrassing failure.

“The Toll, as the report states, has been overwhelming rejected by hauliers who instead pile onto the already congested M6.

“But despite this the EU wants to extend the toll motorways network under the European Electronic Toll Service Directive (EETS). It simply does not make sense.

“Our roads should remain in public ownership. We do not need anymore expensive failures like the M6 Toll,” he added.