M6 Toll charge £17.30 !!!

[Gruntfuttock]

They have increased the charge for a Transporter/Cali etc to £17.30
It's now Class 4 because it higher than 1.3mts directly above the front axle, rob dogs !
Guess who won't be using it again.

 

[andyinluton]

They have increased the charge for a Transporter/Cali etc to £17.30
It's now Class 4 because it higher than 1.3mts directly above the front axle, rob dogs !
Guess who won't be using it again.

3 fat blokes in the front of a transporter gets it under 1.3m, don't ask me how I know.

 

[pjm-84]

Used it once....its easily avoided depending on direction of travel

 

[andyinluton]

@Perfectos - you may disagree but Ive been going up & down the M6 for years,

Our works vans , T6 van with driver = van charge, van with 3 up front = car charge.

Our T5.1 cali used to be hit & miss as to what it was charged at when loaded.

The only consistency has been always being charged as a van when theres only a driver.

The height is measured supposedly at the centre line of the front axle, because of the steep angle of the back end of the bonnet / bottom of the screen it makes a big difference exactly where the height is measured.

The back edge of the bonnet on a standard van is 1.26m which is just in front of the measurement point, measure 150mm further back & the height of the windscreen at that point is more like 1.6m

The height of the rear suspension also has a big effect. A drop of 100mm on the rear effectively moves the the top edge of the windscreen back by about 66mm.

The van is so close to the Tolls measurement divide that it just depends how you are loaded. You only have to look at previous threads re the overall height of vans to see the differences in height of what are supposedly identical vehicles when new.

 

[sidepod]

This reminds me of a hilarious tale on the radio years ago. Johnny Vaughn I think?
It was all about how most vans have a van weasel. Two fat blokes and a van weasel in the middle!

You had to be there……

 

[sidepod]

Used it once....its easily avoided depending on direction of travel

Well of course it’s easily avoided but that’s not really the point is it?

One of the main functions of money is to separate the user from life’s problems.
In this case, applying money separates the user from a ton of traffic and the inevitable t***s that come with it.
Money well spent.

 

[pjm-84]

I've only once caught traffic when avoiding it. Sadly a Police car crashed and I was stuck going in the other direction.... so if you say 40x since I paid to use the M6 toll at say £14 average, versus being stuck in 1 jam, I would say I'm about £560 quids in

M5 shuts near Birmingham as as police vehicle crashes injuring officers

Three officers were injured following a crash involving a marked West Midlands Police vehicle.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[pjm-84]

But it only works if you're routing down the M40 or coming up it .... ignore the sat nav / Google. Straight run around the otherside. Of course if you're going east it may be different (I don't go east)

Google directs you onto the toll

 

[KevH]

Just select 'no tolls' in Google and you'll avoid the, er, toll.

 

[Keith Smith]

I’ve just been east west and Apple Maps used the M6 toll for two out of three options, despite the fact I had no tolls selected. It would not give me a good route home and in the end had to resort to my co-pilot with a road atlas on her knee.

 

[pjm-84]

Just select 'no tolls' in Google and you'll avoid the, er, toll.

No tolls would have put me on the M6.....the extract was for routing around and missing both the M6 and M6 toll that's not typically offered....... Hopwood Park Services also have a generous dog area / walk (for those with dogs)

 

[KevH]

No tolls would have put me on the M6.....the extract was for routing around and missing both the M6 and M6 toll that's not typically offered....... Hopwood Park Services also have a generous dog area / walk (for those with dogs)

Ah, sorry for misunderstanding.
If coming up the M40, it's possible to go north on M42, overshoot the M6 junction, and take the Lichfield exit just before the toll starts.
It can be slow, but it does avoid both the M6 and toll.

I worked in Cannock during the construction and can recall both the frustration of driving through all of the diversions in the area at the time, and the promises of the cheap alternative to M6 congestion that supposedly made it all worthwhile. Hmm.

 

[pjm-84]

I've found the M42 North also painful. Only now used for when I go to the NEC.

I think back to all the times I've been stuck on the M42 N and M6 and think why or why didn't I just keep going....and now realise its signposted south west with a small B'ham