The Association of British Drivers has lambasted the Government for not 'getting why people won't pay to drive'.
While they say the move to put a national pay-as-you-go road pricing scheme on the back burner is welcomed they point to the M6 toll 'fiasco' as showing how pricing reduces the efficiency with which roads are used.
Whilst the toll road is empty and struggling to pay its way, the "free alternative" M6 near Birmingham is top of the list for a hard shoulder running scheme.
ABD Policy Advisor Nigel Humphries said: "Road capacity is to be increased on one motorway whilst the alternative route is running empty - that's the nonsense of road pricing."
In urban areas, London's experience of road pricing has suggested that journey time gains have been minimal, and all that has really happened is that drivers have been charged for the privilege of driving in congestion.
This backs ABD's argument that, instead of spending millions on trying to promote its lost cause, the government should instead invest the money in road improvements to alleviate known bottenecks.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)