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Private toll roads are not a cost-effective answer to traffic problems, the government has been warned. A report by the Campaign for Better Transport said the UK’s only private motorway toll, the M6 Toll, had not significantly cut congestion. Its owners lose tens of millions of pounds a year on the road, near Birmingham, campaigners added. Midland Expressway, which runs the M6 Toll, was approached by the BBC but would not comment on the report. Continue reading the main story Related stories M6 Toll price rises take effect Owners defend M6 Toll price rise M6 Toll road marks fifth birthday The Campaign for Better Transport concluded that the government should not see privately financed schemes as a way out of economic problems. The group argued that journey times on the M6 were only slightly better than before the toll opened nearly seven years ago, and drivers were put off using the road by the charge of £5 per car. It estimated the toll road’s operator was losing more than £25m a year, discouraging potential investors. Campaigners used documents from the Highways Agency, the Transport Select Committee and Midland Expressway to compile the report. Not only had the toll road failed to improve transport in the West Midlands, it concluded, but drivers who paid the toll were not receiving value for money. More