The cost of using the M6 Toll is going up, the road’s operator has confirmed.
But Midland Expressway Limited (MEL) says it is also launching a trial which could cut the cost for local drivers.
From July 30, the price for cars will increase by between 30p and 50p per journey, for light goods vehicles by 10p to 30p and for heavy goods vehicles by 20p to 50p, depending on the journey made.
A new Hopper product is also being trialled with around 100 drivers over the next four months, seeing them pay a maximum price of £20 per week – a move that Andy Cliffe, chief executive of MEL, says will cut the cost for local drivers who regularly use the road by half, as well as reducing local congestion by taking cars away from key routes around Lichfield and Burntwood.
“Over 18 million journeys were made on the M6 Toll last year, moving a huge volume of traffic off the congested M6 and surrounding A roads,” he said. “To continue that shift, I am pleased to announce our new trial of a capped fee for unlimited eligible journeys for local drivers.
“We are committed to encouraging more vans and HGVs off the M6 and onto the M6 Toll and our price rises for commercial vehicles have been carefully set to ensure that we continue the significant growth in HGV traffic on the M6 Toll that we saw in 2017.”
The company also confirmed that night time journeys for light and heavy goods vehicles will be frozen to support businesses during ongoing M6 roadworks.