# M6 Toll



## aikidomo

Yesterday used the M6 toll for the first time, just a word of caution, to go all the way on this road now costs £9.
We got to the toll booth and chose the pay in the bucket booth, yes you guessed it we found that we did not have enough quids to chuck in the bin.
Be warned about this, a young lady appeared as if by magic and offered change by carrying a bag with lots of coins visible.
I gave her a tenner,and she chucked 9 pound into the bin then waived us on, "excuse me" I asked, wheres our pound?
No change given was the reply and a shrug of shoulders, now its only a quid , but what would happen if I only had a twenty, I know one should not go on this road if you do not have the readies handy, or I could have chosen a debit card booth, but we were late,( caused by the diversion on the A1 onto the A14, which bye the way is horrendouse 8O and added 40 miles to our journey and two hours.)
I find it hard not to say that this is in fact stealing and yet another example of our pirate rip off road system.
I hope however that the toll booth operatives really have a nice day out on their ill gotten gains, and it rains! :twisted: 
#&%!!!!!


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## paulmold

To me that is exactly the same as going to a manned booth where change is given.


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## teemyob

*Change*

I don't use it (Or rarely)

When I first used it 2005 I think. It was £5 it is Now £9.40 peak.

Almost Doubled in 5 years.

Disgusting.

TM


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## patnles

8O Was this person actually employed by the MEL or was it just some spiv making an illegal quid or two? :evil:
I've never used the toll so have no idea whether that's normal practise, but I would think not.
Lesley


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## sheringham

*M6 Toll Price update*

The current cost for a MH is now £10 at peak times......£9 Sat and Sunday dropping to £8 between the very silly early morning hours when the real M6 is usually passable.


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## pneumatician

We live almost within sight of the M6 Toll and have used it once.
For the distance covered it is daylight robbery even when I was working and could claim the charges back I didn't use it.

Problem now is as you probably noticed it is usually virtually traffic free ( by UK Standards) and they are losing money.

Steve


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## ThursdaysChild

I share Patnles's suspicion. The young lady wasn't by any chance Romanian or Albanian, was she ?
Offer to sell you some plastic roses or wash your windscreen while she fumbled for change ?


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## teemyob

pneumatician said:


> We live almost within sight of the M6 Toll and have used it once.
> For the distance covered it is daylight robbery even when I was working and could claim the charges back I didn't use it.
> 
> Problem now is as you probably noticed it is usually virtually traffic free ( by UK Standards) and they are losing money.
> 
> Steve


If you have a VW T5 Caravelle or Shuttle 7+seater £9-£10
If you have a VW T5 Van you get charged £9-£10
If you have a Motorhome it is £9-£10

If you have a Range Rover it is £5!

If they charged a fair price, I would use it, say £3-£4.

TM


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## StephandJohn

Haven't been that way for ages but it certainly saves all the horrible queues around Birmingham if you stay on the M6


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## duxdeluxe

When the contract for this was negotiated, some clever government lawyer omitted to put in a clause concerning price escalation and so they can charge what they like. With much less traffic than anticipated, they put the fees up, which resulted in even less traffic etc etc etc.

If you are heading north of Stoke, don't go up the M6 unless you have to, but instead take the M1 up to J23a Donington and take the A50 across to Stoke and rejoin the M6 at J15. You'll save a tenner every time and it adds very little distance to the journey

hope that helps


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## aikidomo

Thanks for your replies, once bitten ect.....
Yes, bye the way she had a toll jacket on and did seem to be employed there, as she came out of a booth on my left hand side.
I posted this to really show how easy it is to be stupid when in a hurry.
Clive


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## Bubblehead

Went past Brum last week on my way to Scotland for the day with work. My Tomtom took me from the M40 up the M42 and onto the M5. Just before the M5 / M6 junction I went off at the junction and then back on to the M6 further up. The expected delay was 20 minutes. I went straight through without any delays and kept £10 in my pocket.

Andy


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## Rosbotham

Echo what duxdeluxe says...when on leisure always use the A50 Stoke-Derby and avoid Birmingham altogether.

When on work's time, I always use the toll. It's not because I'm easier with the company's money, but 45 mins of me stuck in traffic on the old M6 costs the company far more than a fiver (apologies if that sounds conceited, but it's basic economics of charge-out rates)

Paul


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## twinky

This gets my goat. 

I use this part of the M6 at least twice a week and many times the overhead gantries say 'possible congestion ahead', only for the M6 to be clear. Its designed to con people onto the toll road. 

I would contact the toll company and ask if its company policy to charge £1 to change money or whether this was fraud.


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## ThursdaysChild

The M6 has been an abomination for years and years. Many will remember Brian Redhead ( Today Programme R4 ) founding the "Friends of the M6" - much to the dismay of the MoT.
We have been regular victims for 20 years on our business trips to Stoke, and I cannot remember a time when there weren't roadworks on the stretch just north of the M5 junction - or indeed the M5 exit southbound.
We put up with the mammoth roadworks involved with the construction of the M6Toll, and no sooner was that opened than they targeted J10 to J14. And now there's another lot of "improvements" heading north.
Of all the Motorways in the country, the M6 is the clearest example of how our road system is being devoured by lorry traffic. Mile after mile of them, nose to tail, belching fumes. No doubt 40 tons of widgets on the way to Tesco are crucial to our economic survival, but at what real cost. Will widening to 4 lanes ease the pressure ? Doubtful, unless lorries are confined to the inside lane, leaving three for the rest of us. Can't see the transport lobby going along with that.
Much sense has been spoken about shifting freight to the rail network, but past history of rail freight ( albeit on the nationalised BR ) has shown that flexibility of movement at the start and finish of the journey is more important than the journey itself.
So why not have Eurotunnel style roll-on roll-off rail wagons ? Truck picks up load and drives to terminal. Drives onto train. Train takes him and others to destination terminal. Drives off and delivers to destination. There would be no more lorries around the start and finish than there are now, but we would put a stop to the sclerosis of our arteries.
Why not ?


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## duxdeluxe

Rosbotham said:


> When on work's time, I always use the toll. It's not because I'm easier with the company's money, but 45 mins of me stuck in traffic on the old M6 costs the company far more than a fiver (apologies if that sounds conceited, but it's basic economics of charge-out rates)
> 
> Paul


Same here - it's not at all conceited but economics. My company pays me to negotiate contracts, not sit fuming in a traffic jam wasting both the client's and my time.........


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## tinkering

I have a good idea :wink: 

If you took all the company cars off the roads..that's about a third of the car traffic.. between 7am and7pm the problem would be solved..another benefit would be that the price of fuel at motorway services would drop drastically because its only the company car drivers who can afford to buy it.

Thank goodness I have a Tesco store finder map  

Where did I put my tin hat :wink: 

Les


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## twinky

My company wanted me to take a helicopter to my appointments.

I said no because Id miss all the beautiful scenery around spagetti junction.

So I sit in the traffic smelling the wild flowers from the surrounding meadows.


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## Rosbotham

tinkering said:


> If you took all the company cars off the roads..that's about a third of the car traffic.. between 7am and7pm the problem would be solved..


Well given I work for a telecoms company we'd obviously welcome that with open arms...all that extra revenue...


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## teemyob

*Roads*



ThursdaysChild said:


> The M6 has been an abomination for years and years. Many will remember Brian Redhead ( Today Programme R4 ) founding the "Friends of the M6" - much to the dismay of the MoT.
> We have been regular victims for 20 years on our business trips to Stoke, and I cannot remember a time when there weren't roadworks on the stretch just north of the M5 junction - or indeed the M5 exit southbound.
> We put up with the mammoth roadworks involved with the construction of the M6Toll, and no sooner was that opened than they targeted J10 to J14. And now there's another lot of "improvements" heading north.
> Of all the Motorways in the country, the M6 is the clearest example of how our road system is being devoured by lorry traffic. Mile after mile of them, nose to tail, belching fumes. No doubt 40 tons of widgets on the way to Tesco are crucial to our economic survival, but at what real cost. Will widening to 4 lanes ease the pressure ? Doubtful, unless lorries are confined to the inside lane, leaving three for the rest of us. Can't see the transport lobby going along with that.
> Much sense has been spoken about shifting freight to the rail network, but past history of rail freight ( albeit on the nationalised BR ) has shown that flexibility of movement at the start and finish of the journey is more important than the journey itself.
> So why not have Eurotunnel style roll-on roll-off rail wagons ? Truck picks up load and drives to terminal. Drives onto train. Train takes him and others to destination terminal. Drives off and delivers to destination. There would be no more lorries around the start and finish than there are now, but we would put a stop to the sclerosis of our arteries.
> Why not ?


How very true, great reply.

When they built the M60 near us they demolished a perfectly good railway that was in the way.

We all know how bad the M62 can be.

We have a railway near us that runs across the Pennines, mostly unused apart from a once a week ghost train and the odd freight train at night.

TM


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## sheringham

The contract with Midland Expressway Ltd in 1991 for what became known as the M6 Toll was for a 53-year concession to build and operate the road as an early form of public private partnership with the operator paying for the construction and recouping its costs by setting and collecting tolls, allowing for a 3 year construction period followed by 50 years of operation. At the end of this period the infrastructure would be returned to the Government. Toll rates are set at the discretion of the operator at *six-monthly intervals *and there is no cap on the rates charged.

Failure to pay the toll for using the motorway is an offence; anyone attempting to do so will be issued with an unpaid toll notice and required to send payment. If it is not paid within *two days *a £10 administration charge is added plus further costs will be added if the toll is still unpaid after 14 days.

When creating the surface of the road some 2.5 million Mills & Boon novels were pulped and mixed into the tarmac to help the surface absorbency.


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## Manchego

Has anyone ever thought how many trains you would need to move all the lorries on the UK roads ?. There wouldn't be any room left for passenger trains. We have underspent for years on infastructure and if the economy starts to grow at any sort of rate we will almost certainly grind to a halt in certain parts of the country.


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## teemyob

*Roads*

Well given that, think there are too many vehicles on the road, not enough railways or trains and too many people in the UK.

Lets all move!

TM


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## andygrisswell

Anyone using the M6 toll deserves to be ripped off! 

What do you think will happen to all the other motorways if the the M6 toll is profitable.


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## Stanner

ThursdaysChild said:


> So why not have Eurotunnel style roll-on roll-off rail wagons ? Truck picks up load and drives to terminal. Drives onto train. Train takes him and others to destination terminal. Drives off and delivers to destination. There would be no more lorries around the start and finish than there are now, but we would put a stop to the sclerosis of our arteries.
> Why not ?


The UK loading gauge (the space under bridges/tunnels/etc.) won't take a truck on it's wheels, on a railway wagon - it will only just take the container on it's own.
But what's wrong with shifting the containers by rail and then delivering them the last few miles by road?


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## Manchego

That already happens. Freightliner do it, but the problem is it usually takes them about 3 days from Southampton and a truck can do it in six hours.


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## Stanner

Manchego said:


> That already happens. Freightliner do it, but the problem is it usually takes them about 3 days from Southampton and a truck can do it in six hours.


It may do - but it needn't take so long.

Not many things MUST be delivered in 6 hours anyway.

And if trucks stuck rigidly to the law (like the railways have to) a lot less stuff would be delivered in 6 hours. It is reckoned that something like 60% of all road transport is operating illegally. When they do checks on the A.14/A.1 near here almost 50% of the trucks stopped either get warnings or prohibitions.


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## Manchego

60% of foreign transport may be operating illegally but not uk. The enforcement is so strict these days they would have your operators licence off you in no time. The industry is dominated by 5 or 6 big companies like Maritime or Wincanton. Any driver who breaks the law would be fired on these companies instantly.

As i understand it the biggest problem with getting the boxes on to rail is capacity. Lost track of the number of times that Freightliner have told me they are fully booked for the next two weeks.


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## raynipper

Hi aikidomo,
I think I would stay in the both and brew a cuppa while waiting for my change.

Yep and let em get the police. It would all be worth a quid.

Ray.


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## Stanner

Manchego said:


> 60% of foreign transport may be operating illegally but not uk. The enforcement is so strict these days they would have your operators licence off you in no time. The industry is dominated by 5 or 6 big companies like Maritime or Wincanton. Any driver who breaks the law would be fired on these companies instantly.
> 
> As i understand it the biggest problem with getting the boxes on to rail is capacity. Lost track of the number of times that Freightliner have told me they are fully booked for the next two weeks.


Hmmm................. can't remember the last time I followed a truck belonging to any of them sticking to 40mph on single carriageways.


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## aikidomo

raynipper said:


> Hi aikidomo,
> I think I would stay in the both and brew a cuppa while waiting for my change.
> 
> Yep and let em get the police. It would all be worth a quid.
> 
> Ray.


Hi Ray, I do like a guy who sums it up in a few words and solves a problem..........this did not occur to me as I was late, but is a very interesting prospect,Thanks.
Clive


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## thieawin

I use it almost every trip south or east, you pays your money and takes your choice

I enjoy the few miles of quiet continental style motorway driving, the payment is worth it

The real solution is to make all motorways toll roads and shift freight to the rails and have the rest of us thinking about the necessity of the journey. If tolls do not do it then fuel will do so shortly

I hope the high speed rail network does expand to Brum and then Manchester and Leeds and then Scotland leaving the old lines for freight. Tesco are transporting gods into manchester via the Ship canal again, apart from fresh and refigerated goods snail rail and canals are fine. For the rest with adequate marshalling nowhere should take longer than a few hours


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## b16duv

ThursdaysChild said:


> The M6 has been an abomination for years and years. Many will remember Brian Redhead ( Today Programme R4 ) founding the "Friends of the M6" - much to the dismay of the MoT.
> We have been regular victims for 20 years on our business trips to Stoke, and I cannot remember a time when there weren't roadworks on the stretch just north of the M5 junction - or indeed the M5 exit southbound.
> We put up with the mammoth roadworks involved with the construction of the M6Toll, and no sooner was that opened than they targeted J10 to J14. And now there's another lot of "improvements" heading north.
> Of all the Motorways in the country, the M6 is the clearest example of how our road system is being devoured by lorry traffic. Mile after mile of them, nose to tail, belching fumes. No doubt 40 tons of widgets on the way to Tesco are crucial to our economic survival, but at what real cost. Will widening to 4 lanes ease the pressure ? Doubtful, unless lorries are confined to the inside lane, leaving three for the rest of us. Can't see the transport lobby going along with that.
> Much sense has been spoken about shifting freight to the rail network, but past history of rail freight ( albeit on the nationalised BR ) has shown that flexibility of movement at the start and finish of the journey is more important than the journey itself.
> So why not have Eurotunnel style roll-on roll-off rail wagons ? Truck picks up load and drives to terminal. Drives onto train. Train takes him and others to destination terminal. Drives off and delivers to destination. There would be no more lorries around the start and finish than there are now, but we would put a stop to the sclerosis of our arteries.
> Why not ?


If you stopped buying things, there would be less need for trucks on the road.

Anyone who suggests that the fraction remaining of the British railway network of the first part of the 20th century could cope with todays freight volumes is clearly misguided.

I also take issue with the suggestion that 60% of lorries run illegally.

As for restricting lorries to the inside lane, an equally inflammatory remark would be that congestion is caused by silly old codgers driving their (poorly maintained and overloaded) motorhomes in the middle lane at 50mph.

The M6 toll road presents a choice - use it and pay, or don't.

I think that the situation presented by the OP is sharp practise, and the change should have been forthcoming.

David


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## Stanner

b16duv said:


> I also take issue with the suggestion that 60% of lorries run illegally.


I will say just one thing.............

The speed limit for HGV's on single carriageways - I'll be generous in saying that 40% obey that.

OK I'll say another thing as well............

Just read the reports of the VOSA checks



> The results of the July launch of this high profile campaign, which took place in Kent and was overseen by Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman, emphasised just why these checks are so important. Of the 63 vehicles that were stopped during the launch, 41 received mechanical prohibitions, 23 of which were delayed while 18 were immediate (brakes and tyres were most at fault). Also, 44 drivers were checked for drivers' hours, with 12 receiving drivers' hours prohibitions and two further prohibitions being issued for other offences.


Edit + this
http://www.britishtruckersabroad.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=326


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## Manchego

The clue is, it was in Kent. Foreign trucks coming off ferries !!!!!.

VOSA know who they are looking for, so they only stop lorries that they have a good idea which ones are dodgy. 

I don't know what your beef is, but if you think that 60% of the british lorries on the roads are operating illegally you really don't know anything about the transport industry or the licensing system.

As for the 40 mph limit. Yes, most drivers would be doing 44 to 45 and the fact is it's perfectly safe and they are really just going with the traffic, the same as the fact that most cars are doing more than 70 on the motorway. If the standard of driving from car drivers was as good as it is with HGV drivers the country would be a much safer place.


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## b16duv

Stanner said:


> b16duv said:
> 
> 
> 
> I also take issue with the suggestion that 60% of lorries run illegally.
> 
> 
> 
> I will say just one thing.............
> 
> The speed limit for HGV's on single carriageways - I'll be generous in saying that 40% obey that.
> 
> OK I'll say another thing as well............
> 
> Just read the reports of the VOSA checks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The results of the July launch of this high profile campaign, which took place in Kent and was overseen by Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman, emphasised just why these checks are so important. Of the 63 vehicles that were stopped during the launch, 41 received mechanical prohibitions, 23 of which were delayed while 18 were immediate (brakes and tyres were most at fault). Also, 44 drivers were checked for drivers' hours, with 12 receiving drivers' hours prohibitions and two further prohibitions being issued for other offences.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Edit + this
> http://www.britishtruckersabroad.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=326
Click to expand...

These statistics merely highlight the efficiency of targeted enforcement. In 20 years of driving HGVs, I have been stopped twice in a roadside check.

It is just not correct to extrapolate these figures to say that 60% of HGVs are breaking the law.

It's a bit like doing a survey in a prison and then saying that 60% of the population are murderers. 

David


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## Stanner

OK what about the 40mph limit on single carriageways?


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## Zozzer

duxdeluxe said:


> When the contract for this was negotiated, some clever government lawyer omitted to put in a clause concerning price escalation and so they can charge what they like. With much less traffic than anticipated, they put the fees up, which resulted in even less traffic etc etc etc.
> 
> If you are heading north of Stoke, don't go up the M6 unless you have to, but instead take the M1 up to J23a Donington and take the A50 across to Stoke and rejoin the M6 at J15. You'll save a tenner every time and it adds very little distance to the journey
> 
> hope that helps


That's the route I used to used before getting a Toll exemption card due to disability. It's superb stress free dual carriageway from the M6 to the M1 with only half a dozen roundabouts to stop you falling asleep.


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## Zozzer

thieawin said:


> I use it almost every trip south or east, you pays your money and takes your choice
> 
> I enjoy the few miles of quiet continental style motorway driving, the payment is worth it
> 
> The real solution is to make all motorways toll roads and shift freight to the rails and have the rest of us thinking about the necessity of the journey. If tolls do not do it then fuel will do so shortly
> 
> I hope the high speed rail network does expand to Brum and then Manchester and Leeds and then Scotland leaving the old lines for freight. Tesco are transporting gods into manchester via the Ship canal again, apart from fresh and refigerated goods snail rail and canals are fine. For the rest with adequate marshalling nowhere should take longer than a few hours


The solution is to equip all trucks over 3500Kg carrying goods within the EU with Go Boxes like they have in Austria. Any road tax payable on Goods Vehicles over 3500kg in member states should be scrapped, and replaced by Go Boxes. There is no justification for the transporting goods thousands of miles across Europe by road. 
Long distance land transport should be done by rail.


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## Manchego

Stanner said:


> OK what about the 40mph limit on single carriageways?


Nit picking. What about the 70 limit on motorways.


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## tinkering

Anyone know when the threatened rail strike will start  

Back in the 70,s AEE 402L (you never forget your first new motor) Guy six wheeler 150 hp Gardener 6LX (that's now less than a lot of motor homes)..Aberfeldy.. north of Perth to Boston Links two days loaded with fifteen tons of seed spuds..Freightliner..same farm ..same destination ten days..Rail was rubbish then and its still is.

Les :wink:


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## Bill_OR

We used the M6 Toll for the first time in my MH yesterday. In my ignorance I assumed I'd be charged the same rate as a car, as on the Dartford Crossing.
WRONG - the toll is now £10.60!
I'm adding to this thread to make sure others don't make the same unintentional mistake. Next time I'll just use the M6.

Bill


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## teemyob

*Toll due so*

I used it last month en-route to the southampton-Bilbao ferry. I was ahead of time but just did not want to miss the only boat for 3 days.

As I said , normally I avoid it. So should anyone where possible.

If someone had pulled that trick on me. Think I might of suggested it was a twenty.


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## jud

hi . the only people who will be able to afford to use these toll motorways . tunnels and bridges in england is foreigners because we are to busy buying tax disks and when we go to there country we get ripped off by the toll roads.jud


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## bognormike

jud said:


> hi . the only people who will be able to afford to use these toll motorways . tunnels and bridges in england is foreigners because we are to busy buying tax disks and when we go to there country we get ripped off by the toll roads.jud


eh?


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## thieawin

*Re: Toll due so*



teemyob said:


> I used it last month en-route to the southampton-Bilbao ferry. I was ahead of time but just did not want to miss the only boat for 3 days.
> 
> As I said , normally I avoid it. So should anyone where possible.
> 
> If someone had pulled that trick on me. Think I might of suggested it was a twenty.


1. I would rather pay 10.60 than get snarled up around Birmingham and delayed if travelling to Cambridge or East Anglia or down to Oxford and Portsmouth (for Bilbao)

2. tell us about this new ferry service from Southampton to Bilbao?


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## pneumatician

Just come off the M6 at A51, A38, Coleshill M6 South.
Just about the same distance and 15 minutes longer to save a tenner.

We live virtually within sight of the Toll cross it most days but think it must be the most expensive road in Europe.
We never use the M6 through Birmingham there are several quite straightforward routes to both the M6 M42 and M1.
Currently the M6 > A14 junction should be avoided unless you fancy contemplating the litter on the verges for quite a while.

Steve


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## Bill_H

The pricing structure is clearly displayed miles before you reach the M6 toll turn off, both going north and south, to be disgruntled about the pricing when you arrive at a toll booth says a lot about your observational skills while driving. No-one is forced to use it, there are plenty of others roads which will get you to your destination without using it.

A quick Google gives this

http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pricing/pricing-guide/


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## nicholsong

Bill_H said:


> The pricing structure is clearly displayed miles before you reach the M6 toll turn off, both going north and south, to be disgruntled about the pricing when you arrive at a toll booth says a lot about your observational skills while driving. No-one is forced to use it, there are plenty of others roads which will get you to your destination without using it.
> 
> A quick Google gives this
> 
> http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pricing/pricing-guide/


Bill

Unfortunately the roadside signs give only a generalised pricing structure and not the full info on the website.

For the last 7 years I drove a VW Caravelle (T5) professionally all over the country. At all other tolls (Severn Br., Dartford Crossing, Humber Br.) that vehicle was classified as a 'car'. On the M6 Toll it is classified as a van, because the bodywork is >1.3m measured above the front axle.

Any driver who had experience of the other tolls in UK could not know from the information on the signs that he would have to pay more.

I believe the Government should have ensured like for like treatment when they approved the tariff system.

Geoff


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## rayrecrok

Hi.

A few weeks back I had to go to Conrad Anderson in Brum to have my cruise control fixed, as they were the ones that put it on my van.(Nothing wrong with the cruise control as it is a great bit of kit, but the garage who did my MOT broke a wire to the stalk :roll: )..

I digress as usual, Anyway the Tom Tom said Tolls do you want to avoid yes or no?.. Me being the plonker I am said No. Put me on the toll road where my jaw nearly hit the floor when they asked for £10..

I went 5 minutes down the road and the Tom Tom turned me off the motorway back onto the road I was originally on.

I was mortified, someone had actually managed to fleece a Yorkshire man 8O .


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## Stanner

nicholsong said:


> For the last 7 years I drove a VW Caravelle (T5) professionally all over the country. At all other tolls (Severn Br., Dartford Crossing, Humber Br.) that vehicle was classified as a 'car'. On the M6 Toll it is classified as a van, because the bodywork is >1.3m measured above the front axle.


If you want a laugh go to the M6 Toll site and work out the cost for a Bedford Rascal or Daihatsu Hi-jet van towing a trailer - see just what else it would be charged the same toll as.

:wink:

Hint - It's over 1.3m at the front axle and with a trailer has 3 axles.


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## teemyob

*Re: Toll due so*



thieawin said:


> teemyob said:
> 
> 
> 
> I used it last month en-route to the southampton-Bilbao ferry. I was ahead of time but just did not want to miss the only boat for 3 days.
> 
> As I said , normally I avoid it. So should anyone where possible.
> 
> If someone had pulled that trick on me. Think I might of suggested it was a twenty.
> 
> 
> 
> 1. I would rather pay 10.60 than get snarled up around Birmingham and delayed if travelling to Cambridge or East Anglia or down to Oxford and Portsmouth (for Bilbao)
> 
> 2. tell us about this new ferry service from Southampton to Bilbao?
Click to expand...

It is the same Company that are starting up the Liverpool-Bilbao Route next year!

(in My Dreams)

Portsmouth, I meant.


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## Autoquest

I disagree with the London LEZ but could understand the concept if applied to the M6 through Brum. Surely the Toll route should be the free part of the M6 and all vehicles routed up there and a charge applied to those who wish to pollute Birmingham. At the moment I can't see what the poor residents get out of it...


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## coroner

i understand the operator of the m6 toll is losing a fortune heres too default and reverting back to the national network i pay my vehicle excise duty to use


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## thieawin

coroner said:


> i understand the operator of the m6 toll is losing a fortune heres too default and reverting back to the national network i pay my vehicle excise duty to use


But as it was built privately not with public finance your vehicle excise duty doesn't cover its construction, use repair etc


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## thieawin

*Re: Toll due so*



teemyob said:


> thieawin said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> teemyob said:
> 
> 
> 
> I used it last month en-route to the southampton-Bilbao ferry. I was ahead of time but just did not want to miss the only boat for 3 days.
> 
> As I said , normally I avoid it. So should anyone where possible.
> 
> If someone had pulled that trick on me. Think I might of suggested it was a twenty.
> 
> 
> 
> 1. I would rather pay 10.60 than get snarled up around Birmingham and delayed if travelling to Cambridge or East Anglia or down to Oxford and Portsmouth (for Bilbao)
> 
> 2. tell us about this new ferry service from Southampton to Bilbao?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It is the same Company that are starting up the Liverpool-Bilbao Route next year!
> 
> (in My Dreams)
> 
> Please, my dreams to, can it call in via IOM once a week?
> 
> Portsmouth, I meant.
Click to expand...


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## asprn

twinky said:



> I would contact the toll company and ask if its company policy to charge £1 to change money or whether this was fraud.


Save yourself a stamp or a phone call. It's not fraud.

Dougie.


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## Zozzer

I think it's high time the UK followed european model of using vigenettes and Go-Boxes for those people wishing to use the motorways.


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## ched999uk

Much simpler way of effectively implementing toll roads.

Abolish road tax and add 10p to the price of a litre of fuel.
That way the foreigners would pay, the more economical your vehicle was the cheaper it would be per mile, and the more miles you do the more you pay.

There is also virtually no way to avoid paying it.


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## waz

Zozzer said:


> I think it's high time the UK followed european model of using vigenettes and Go-Boxes for those people wishing to use the motorways.


It would be so easy to collect as all transport has to enter UK through the docks so could be collected as they leave the port.

Waz


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## Stanner

ched999uk said:


> Abolish road tax and add 10p to the price of a litre of fuel.
> That way the foreigners would pay, the more economical your vehicle was the cheaper it would be per mile, and the more miles you do the more you pay.
> 
> There is also virtually no way to avoid paying it.


They do already

They enter the country with tanks brimmed and use that instead of buying any here. Most of them have supplementary tanks that hold more than enough fuel for a round trip.


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## Zozzer

ched999uk said:


> Much simpler way of effectively implementing toll roads.
> 
> Abolish road tax and add 10p to the price of a litre of fuel.
> That way the foreigners would pay, the more economical your vehicle was the cheaper it would be per mile, and the more miles you do the more you pay.
> 
> There is also virtually no way to avoid paying it.


Won't work, you'd still get foreign truckers coming over here with their multiple fuel tanks full to the brim with cheap continental diesel.

Abolish road tax yes, but introduce vignettes. Get caught on a motorway without a valid one and the vehicle gets crushed.


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## rod_vw

Zozzer said:


> ched999uk said:
> 
> 
> 
> Much simpler way of effectively implementing toll roads.
> 
> Abolish road tax and add 10p to the price of a litre of fuel.
> That way the foreigners would pay, the more economical your vehicle was the cheaper it would be per mile, and the more miles you do the more you pay.
> 
> There is also virtually no way to avoid paying it.
> 
> 
> 
> Won't work, you'd still get foreign truckers coming over here with their multiple fuel tanks full to the brim with cheap continental diesel.
> 
> Abolish road tax yes, but introduce vignettes. Get caught on a motorway without a valid one and the vehicle gets crushed.
Click to expand...

Err, don't we all fill up before returning to the UK?

Pot, Kettle & Black come to mind!


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## thieawin

I fill in Spain before getting on the boat from Bilbao and then again at Asda Heysham before getting onto the boat to the IOM. Its 12p per litre cheaper there than here.


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## Stanner

rod_vw said:


> Err, don't we all fill up before returning to the UK?


Errrrrrrrrrrr.... not the company car drivers I know.

Their free fuel cards don't work abroad and the poor dears have to buy their own fuel when out of the UK. They are the ones you see diving straight into the (very expensive IIRC) filling station on the exit from Eurotunnel as soon as they arrive back in Folkestone.

Just like you I couldn't puzzle it out for a while - until I went on a booze cruise with........ You guessed it..... a company car driver.

I'd wondered why he hadn't filled up at Auchan in Calais like I would have done.


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## Zozzer

rod_vw said:


> Zozzer said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ched999uk said:
> 
> 
> 
> Much simpler way of effectively implementing toll roads.
> 
> Abolish road tax and add 10p to the price of a litre of fuel.
> That way the foreigners would pay, the more economical your vehicle was the cheaper it would be per mile, and the more miles you do the more you pay.
> 
> There is also virtually no way to avoid paying it.
> 
> 
> 
> Won't work, you'd still get foreign truckers coming over here with their multiple fuel tanks full to the brim with cheap continental diesel.
> 
> Abolish road tax yes, but introduce vignettes. Get caught on a motorway without a valid one and the vehicle gets crushed.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Err, don't we all fill up before returning to the UK?
> 
> Pot, Kettle & Black come to mind!
Click to expand...

Many of the motorhome fraternity cross the channel once maybe twice a year.

The UK road haulage industry has been destroyed by continental owner drivers mainly from eastern europe coming over here maybe once mayby twice a month. With fuel tanks of 150 - 200 gallons, of cheap fuel they can easily come over the channel drop a load and seriously undercut UK hauliers taking a load back across the channel.

They pay no fees towards the maintenance of our road network, they pay no income tax into the UK economony, they also take advantage of being able to drive on Sundays, something they can't do abroad.

Next time your on the motorways, count the number of foreign trucks you see on your journey. Try the same on the M6 Toll road.


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## pneumatician

We see many complaints from visitors to our area that motorists are led onto the Toll road by default. 
Unless you are familiar with the area signs will lead you to the Toll to cover just a couple of miles.

It's looks as though it won't be a get rich quick scheme or a worthwhile investment. 
Another Millenium Dome, Olympic Football Stadium etc.
I am coming to the conclusion we really can't organise a Pee up in a Brewery in this country.

Steve


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## Zozzer

It should never have been named the M6 Toll. It should have called the T6


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## teemyob

*robbing Feckers*



Zozzer said:


> It should never have been named the M6 Toll. It should have called the T6


No

The

RF6

or

Fleece Street


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## 113016

I can't understand why anyone would even want to use the M6 Toll at the current charge rate.
We live near to junction 15 on the M6 and we never use the toll road even when I was trucking.
If you don't want to come up the M6 as it is a busy period then here is a good route that will only add about 20 minutes to a clear M6 run and it is much nicer.
Carry on up the M42 to junction 11.
At J11 turn off left towards Tamworth and proceed to the A38.
Go up the A38 to the A50.
Then left onto the A50 towards Stoke on Trent.
Here you join the A500 and carry on to J16 on the M6
I have used this route for years when ever I see or think that the M6 will be choaked.
There is a little short cut while driving on the A38.
You turn left onto the A513 and at the end of the rd in Kings Bromley you turn right onto the A515 (here there is a nice little layby with views over a little river and invaribly there is wildlife to view)and this goes through Draycot in the Clay to the A50.


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## CourtJester

I commute quite regularly to Birmingham from Sandbach. J17 M6 to J4a M6. I never use the toll road despite the fact that the Mway signs always say words to the effect that there is congestion on the M6 but the toll road is clear.

The toll road does not do what it was supposedly built for, that is, to reduce traffic congestion on the M6. The charges are too high and therefore the toll road is used by a minority only.


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## thieawin

I agree that the operators should consider halving the prices and see what happens to traffic levels. It is expensive and quick and a pleasure to drive on, just like M ways abroad, empty.


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## Andysam

I used the M6 toll until the first exit having been forced onto it by an arctic who had just (laboriously) overtaken me. When I tried to pull in he matched my speed and fed me the toll road. 

The result? We came off at the very first unmanned toll (2 miles at most) and had no cash. A woman came out of the building and I had to pay by card. She was totally unsympathetic that I was forced onto the toll and that my final destination was was now behind me back down the toll road! I'll never use them intentionally.


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## Stanner

Andysam said:


> I used the M6 toll until the first exit having been forced onto it by an arctic who had just (laboriously) overtaken me. When I tried to pull in he matched my speed and fed me the toll road.
> 
> The result? We came off at the very first unmanned toll (2 miles at most) and had no cash. A woman came out of the building and I had to pay by card. She was totally unsympathetic that I was forced onto the toll and that my final destination was was now behind me back down the toll road! I'll never use them intentionally.


Didn't you just slam your brakes on? I'd like to see him match that.

PS anybody behind shouldn't be that close.


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