M6 Toll traffic is on the up

The amount of traffic using the M6 Toll near Cannock is on the up, new figures have revealed.

The latest quarterly figures for the toll road show that from April to June this year an extra 2,300 vehicles used the route on weekdays.

This latest increase of 4.5 per cent comes on the back of similar rises in January and March where traffic volume increased by 4.6 per cent year on year. The news will be welcomed by bosses at Midland Expressway Limited after a report in May revealed many drivers were ignoring the relief route.

In its latest figures the company say on weekdays an extra 2,300 vehicles paid to travel on the 27-mile route, stretching from junction 11A near Cannock and junction 3A near Coventry, in the three-month period.

This takes the total numbers of users to 53,658 on weekdays.

At weekends with fewer workers the toll saw a smaller rise of just 0.3 per cent or just 118 extra vehicles.

Across all days the M6 Toll is seeing a total of 47,964 vehicles, which is an average increase of 3.2 per cent on the same period last year.

Tom Fanning, chief executive of Midland Expressway Limited, said: "We are very pleased with the performance of the M6 Toll during the last quarter. Workday traffic flows were particularly pleasing, During the quarter, our peak daily flow to date in 2007 was recorded at a fantastic 72,115."

Despite this good news research in May suggested many motorists were choosing to sit in queues rather than pay the toll road prices, which increased in January.

A report from Trafficmaster and the RAC showed congestion on the M6 was increasing.

Researchers said the stretch of the M6 between the two junctions of the M6 Toll was the one of the most congested areas in the country.