IT was £2 well spent, I thought to myself as the traffic in the nearside lanes of the "ordinary" M6 crawled almost to a standstill.

I was travelling along Britain's first motorway toll road and it was proving to be a congestion-free experience.

Its operators say it can save up to 45 minutes if you travel the whole route around the congested M6 in the West Midlands.

And I tried it yesterday on the first weekday the toll motorway had been opened both north and south-bound.

It links junctions four and 11 of the motorway and at present costs £2 for cars, £5 for vans and £10 for lorries along the 27-mile route.

I set off from Manchester at 6.30am, giving myself plenty of time to reach the toll at 8am.

The initial journey along the M6 was slow because of a crash, but at 7.50am I saw the sign "M6 toll" just before junction 12 southbound.

I passed a signpost detailing the charges drivers will incur if they continue to travel towards the toll and I was surprised how many decided to join the congested, non-toll motorway. There was some indecision by some of the motorists, but after a couple of hundred yards, the carriageway opened up, leaving only a handful taking the paying route.

Lorries

It was then a trouble-free drive for the 12 miles or so, until I reached the pay booths. There were a total of eight, with three manned for car drivers who did not have the correct change. There were only three cars in front of me and it was soon my turn to hand over my money and head through the barrier.

From stopping my car to paying the toll took barely a minute and I was soon waved away and able to resume my journey. One thing that did strike me about the route was the lack of heavy lorries - maybe the charges have discouraged them.

However, the joy of a trouble-free journey was soon ended as the motorways merged and the traffic slowed down again.

Police in the West Midlands say the non-toll route was busy as usual at that time of day.

I had no qualms about paying the £2 fee for the single, one-off trip, but this would add up to £80 a month if I was to do the journey both ways, five days a week. What regular north-south commuters and haulage firms will make of it is another matter - and it will be up to the politicians to decide whether toll motorways are here to stay.

Tom Fanning, managing director of the road's operator, Midland Expressway Ltd, said: "We've been really encouraged by the tens of thousands of motorists who have tried out the road over the past few days.

"We're sure that many more people will choose to avoid the notorious congestion black spots around Birmingham."

Are toll roads the answer to traffic congestion?

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