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M6 Toll Road posts 10% drop in usage figures
Page 15
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By David Harris THE RECESSION HAS been blamed for a fall in the number of vehicles using the M6 Toll Road by an average of more than 10% in the first quarter of 2009, says the company running the road.
Midland Expressway has released figures that show a 10.7% drop in use of the motorway compared to the first quarter of 2008, which it attributes to the "weak 1...1( economy and improved network capacity': But the National Alliance Against Tolls claims that while the recession has played its part in cutting traffic on the road, the statistics are part of a longer-term trend.
It says: "The seasonally adjusted figures show that the use made of the road has been reducing since early 2007 This seems to be mainly caused by increased reluctance of drivers to pay any toll, even if it may save them time:There is no sign of the traffic growth that the company must be hoping for unless the government creates more congestion on the free 1■/16."
Only 34,000 vehicles used the road from the start of this yearnearly 40% down on the peak in the third quarter of 2006.