The Road Haulage Association says many of its members will boycott the M6 Toll because of the £10-£11 fee they will be charged to use the 27-mile stretch.
Most Freight Transport Association member companies said they also would not use the £900m private motorway which cuts out a heavily congested section of the M6, near Birmingham.
Midland Expressway denied that charges were designed to discourage truck operators.
Alistair Darling, transport secretary, said the scheme signalled a new era in revitalising Britain’s troubled roads but no further tolls would be likely within the next 10 years.
The Daily Telegraph asks whether the first private pay-as-you go motorway is the beginning of the end for free road use or an overdue way to cut congestion.
References: Financial Times 10/12/03 page 6, The Times (Broadsheet) 10/12/03 page 12, page 24 (Comment), The Daily Telegraph 10/12/03 page 4, The Independent (Broadsheet) 10/12/03 page 6, The Guardian 10/12/03 pa
