House of Commons - Transport

Select Committee on Transport Seventh Report

6 The M6 Toll

84. The M6 Toll, formerly known as the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, opened in December 2003 and was Britain's first tolled motorway. The M6 Toll provides a new strategic route to the north east of Birmingham and gives relief to the M6 between junctions 11 and 4.

85. In July 2004 the Department for Transport published the first three-month analysis of traffic levels on the M6 Toll and surrounding roads.[164] Traffic figures show that on average 45,000 vehicles a day are using the M6 Toll, and this figure continues to increase.[165] There have been time savings for travellers who use the M6 Toll. Taking the journey times on M6 Toll and on the M6 before opening, the average weekday journey time savings are 12 minutes northbound and 7 minutes southbound. However, maximum time savings of around 30 minutes are shown in the peak hours for a midweek day. On Fridays, some journeys are now up to 70 minutes faster on the M6 Toll than on the M6 before December 2003. Travellers who continue to use the M6 have also benefited from the M6 Toll, since the transfer of traffic has reduced weekday traffic volumes on the M6 itself by 10 per cent, and there are greater reductions at the weekends.[166] This has produced journey time improvements on the M6 of 16 minutes on weekdays, and up to an hour on Fridays.

86. The M6 Toll may have improved journey times but it has also generated extra traffic in the region. The number of vehicles on the M6 corridor increased from 144,000 in November 2003 before the M6 Toll opened, to 160,000 in November 2004.[167] Congestion has developed at either end of the M6 Toll where it converges with the motorway network.[168] The Highways Agency told us that congestion had been apparent at the southern end of the M6 Toll since the road opened because of substantial amounts of traffic wishing to go down a two lane facility to reach the M42. The Agency is currently in discussion with Midlands Expressway Limited about how to improve traffic flow where the M42 diverges from the M6 Toll, by using the hard shoulder and narrower lanes.[169]

Reliability of the data

87. It is still too early to properly evaluate this major road project and both the Highways Agency and the west midlands Chief Engineers and Planning Officers Group have concerns over the validity of the data. The Traffic Monitoring Study notes that traffic patterns have not yet stabilised and the effects of holiday periods, accidents and roadworks are specifically excluded. The report concludes that traffic on the M6 is still oscillating:

Clearly… it is still too early to identify the full and long-term impact of the M6 Toll on the M6 and other roads and the impact of the M6 Toll is likely to be more profound and complex than a simple diversion from one road to another.[

170

The west midlands Chief Engineers and Planning Officers Group considered it would be irresponsible to complete any study of the impacts of the M6 Toll on traffic patterns, air quality and economic impact before December 2004 because the extensive road works would have such a significant impact on the results.[171]

Wider impacts of M6 Toll

88. The new road will have impacts that go beyond traffic patterns. We received mixed evidence on the economic impact of the M6 Toll. The west midlands regional development agency thought that the new road had increased land values and commercial interest in the area, but felt even so that having a toll road only in the west midlands and not elsewhere in the country put the region as a whole at a potential economic disadvantage:

Our inward investment manager is already seeing much more interest in investing around that M6 and indeed slightly further north… Fundamentally the economic development is great as a result of that toll road.[

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89. Despite the arguments made about the economic importance of road capacity and traffic flows, neither the Department for Transport or the Highways Agency are evaluating the economic impact of the M6 Toll; this has been left to the local authorities in the region.[174] The provision of additional motorway capacity is a major development and could have significant and diverse impacts on the regional and the national economy. These impacts must be fully evaluated.

90. Early indications are that traffic flows on the M6 have improved following the opening of the M6 Toll and the journey time savings and increased reliability are impressive. However, the result on other roads in the conurbation is more mixed and we note that the overall traffic level in the M6 corridor has increased. The impacts of a new tolled motorway will extend to economic, land use, environmental and safety effects. It is essential that all these impacts are fully understood by the Department for Transport before other projects of this sort are undertaken. We are concerned that evaluation to date has been limited to traffic flows, with no systematic attempt by the Government to assess the economic and safety impacts of the new road.

Public control over the private toll road

91. Midland Expressway Limited were awarded a 53 year concession to run the M6 Toll until 2054. The privately financed M6 Toll cost £485 million to build and Macquarie Infrastructure Group put the total project cost at £900 million:

The M6 Toll is a premium quality road that was delivered on budget and ahead of schedule, with minimum use of taxpayer's funds. The total investment outlay to develop, design and build the M6 Toll was approximately £900m, with the only cost to the government being an £18m contribution towards rebuilding part of the connecting M42. The entire development cost (and risk) was transferred to the private sector.[

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92. At the time the M6 Toll contract was awarded there was widespread criticism that the operator would have the power to decide the level of charges and the Government would have no control. Under the legislation governing tolling on the M6 Toll the concessionaire is responsible for all aspects of the road's operation.[176] Handing such total control over to the private sector removes the ability of the Government to control wider transport policy. As Advantage West Midlands told us:

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93. The M6 Toll has not been well used by heavy goods vehicles, because the haulage industry considered the prices too high.[179] It is thought that following the discount from £11 to £6 for HGVs the number of heavy vehicles on the M6 Toll has increased. However, this cannot be substantiated as the operator, Midland Expressway Ltd, considered the numbers of heavy vehicles using the road to be commercially confidential.[180] Not only is the operator at liberty to set the charges for different categories of vehicle, it can also withhold traffic data from the Highways Agency. The inability of the Highways Agency to monitor traffic flows on the M6 Toll undermines the ability of public authorities to plan comprehensive transport policy in the region. Claims of commercial confidentiality mean the details of the concession agreement have not been made publicly available.

94. Furthermore, we are concerned that the M6 Toll will be unaffected by national transport policy decisions over the next fifty years. Midland Expressway is able to operate the M6 Toll as an entirely independent stretch of road, providing safety and maintenance standards are met. The Government's policies, such as national road pricing, high occupancy vehicle lanes, and active traffic management, for example, can only be applied to the M6 Toll road with the co-operation of the operators. When we questioned Midland Expressway on their willingness to engage with wider Government policy, Sir Robin Biggam, Chairman of Macquarie European Infrastructure plc, explained that Macquarie would be prepared to discuss such requests, but this would require changes to the concession agreement:

181

The Secretary of State acknowledged that to change the M6 Toll concession agreement according to new policy requirements would be expensive.[182]

95. As the M6 Toll is a relatively short stretch of motorway, just 27 miles long, the lack of control may not be a problem. However, if the pattern of toll roads was pursued more widely, the lack of control would certainly be an area for concern. The Secretary of State told us that if a national road pricing system was introduced this would subsume toll roads within it: there would not be two systems in operation.[183] Given the timing put forward by the Road Pricing Feasibility Study and the date the Department has suggested that the Expressway could open, the compatibility of these two projects looks questionable.[184]

96. The ability of the Government to control transport policy across the national road network must not be compromised. We are concerned that almost total control was handed to the private operator of the M6 Toll, Midland Expressway Limited. This is a risky strategy and there is no guarantee it will work in the public interest. If the Government decides to pursue further private toll roads, we would urge that the transfer of power and barriers to proper scrutiny, evident in the case of the M6 Toll road, are not repeated.

M6 Expressway

97. In December 2002 the Secretary of State for Transport gave his support to the recommendation of the west midlands to north west multi modal study to widen the M6 to four lanes in each direction. The Highways Agency had been developing plans for the widening, but in July 2004 the Department for Transport launched a consultation on a tolled 'M6 Expressway' north of Birmingham to Manchester. In the consultation document the Department for Transport states that since the Secretary of State indicated his support for M6 widening, the Department has learned from the experience of the M6 Toll.[185] Given the doubts over the available data on the M6 Toll, we are concerned that the Secretary of State for Transport should see fit to use these data to justify putting on hold the conclusions of the multi modal study, and launching a consultation into a brand new proposal for a further tolled motorway, the 'M6 Expressway'.

98. We are concerned that early data from the M6 Toll road are being used to justify the consideration of a second tolled motorway north of Birmingham to Manchester. The data available cover only the first three months of analysis and were considered unreliable by the regional engineers and planning officers, since major road works were being undertaken in the M6 corridor during this period. The Department must wait for a proper assessment of the full and long-term impacts before deciding whether to move ahead with more private tolled motorways.

99. Although the Expressway is only at 'broad concept' stage, the Department for Transport asserts that in comparison to road widening, a new motorway could be built just as quickly, at lower cost, with less disruption to traffic on the M6, and with the potential to avoid the most sensitive environmental sites.[186] The Department for Transport suggests that although building would not begin until 2012, an Expressway could be constructed in four years, compared to the six years that would be required for widening.[187]

100. We find it hard to believe that the Expressway could be built and open by 2016. The M6 Toll was subject to two public inquiries and 10 years worth of delays between receiving Government support for the concept, and construction. Macquarie told us that the land acquisition and planning process took time, and they were not confident, in the case of the M6 Expressway, that preparations could be completed by 2012:

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101. The message from the regional representatives, the freight and motorist groups and the business sector was that the Department should pursue whichever scheme would be open to the public most quickly.[189] The regional development agency was concerned that the consultation was announced - without notifying the regional representatives in advance - at the time when the M6 widening scheme was due to be added to the Highways Agency's Targeted Programme of Improvements. This suggests that improvements in the region will now be delayed.[190] The Department might enjoy better co-operation with its local and regional partners if it involved them at an early stage in projects such as the M6 Expressway.

102. The M6 Expressway consultation document contains only cursory information and lacks any detail. Mr Paul Farrelly, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, noted:

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We suggest that the assertions in the M6 Expressway consultation should be backed up with further analysis. If the results of the consultation process are found to support the scheme, the full cost benefit analysis and impact assessment for the M6 Expressway must take into account the possibility that national road pricing may be in operation by the time the new toll road is ready to open.

103. Although little information is available in the Government's proposals, the evidence we received on the Expressway indicated that it could adversely affect regeneration efforts in parts of North Staffordshire.[192] We also heard that a new motorway could in fact have a more severe environmental impact than a road widening project would have, with particularly acute consequences for ancient woodland and wildlife.[193] English Nature advised us that within a five kilometre corridor alongside the existing M6 there are at least 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, five of which are internationally important, together with a number of protected species.[194]

104. The West Midlands Regional Transport Strategy recommends a package of integrated measures including both public transport and road improvements. A tolled Expressway connecting Birmingham with Manchester is not a priority in this strategy. The regional transport representatives pointed to other transport projects that, given funding, would better serve the community.[195] The provision of high quality motorways between the west midlands and the north west will affect people's choice of whether to travel by car or rail. The Government should seriously consider whether privately operated premium quality tolled motorways have a role in an integrated and sustainable transport agenda.

105. By the Department for Transport's own admission, the M6 Expressway proposal is no more than a concept in the consultation document, and as such, commenting on the proposal in any detail is problematic. The Department must provide more detailed information in its consultation documents in the future if it expects the public to submit meaningful comments.

164 Highways Agency (July 2004) 'M6 Toll Traffic Monitoring Study: Traffic Impact Study Report'. Back

165 RP 52 Back

166 Traffic reduced by 15 per cent on Saturdays and 20 per cent on Sundays - Highways Agency, M6 Traffic Monitoring Study. Back

167 RP 52. The 'M6 corridor' includes the M6 and the M6 Toll road. Back

168 RP 18 RP 09, RP 52A Back

169 RP 52A Back

170 Highways Agency Traffic Monitoring Study para 5.13, page 49 Back

171 Q334-6 Back

172 Q289-291 Back

173 RP 16 Back

174 Q708, Q678 Back

175 RP 13 Back