How much is the M6 toll road?

Want to know all the details about the M6 toll? You can find them here.

Anyone who thinks the best things in life are free doesn’t know about the M6 toll.

While the regular M6 is often gummed up with traffic crawling past Birmingham and Wolverhampton, the M6 toll offers an alternative. Unlike most of the UK’s 2,300-mile motorway network you must pay to use it, but spending the money usually means quicker journeys with less chance of sitting in a snarl-up just south of Walsall.

The M6 toll is a 27-mile-long bypass that circumvents some of the busiest and densely populated parts of the West Midlands. The rest of the motorway network is operated by publicly owned National Highways, but the M6 toll is privately owned by Aleatica, a transport infrastructure company that operates in Europe and Latin America.

Here, we’ll explain how much the M6 toll costs, amongst other details.

Toll charges on the M6

How much you will pay to use the M6 toll depends on the time of day and week, what type of vehicle you’re driving, and where you come onto the road. We’ll split these charges down by these criteria.

Three-zone charges

If you’re driving along the entire length of the M6 toll, you will be charged ‘three-zone’ prices, which are as follows (as of September 2024):

Motorbike: £4.70
Car: £9.70
Car + trailer: £14
Van/motorhome: £16.60
HGV: £17.20

You may not be driving the full length of the toll road, in which case you will pay either two- or one-zone prices.

Two zones

Motorbike: £4
Car: £8
Car + trailer: £11.70
Van/motorhome: £14.90
HGV: £15.70

One zone

Motorbike: £3.30
Car: £6.20
Car + trailer: £9.30
Van/motorhome: £13.10
HGV: £14.20

Breeze account charges

While it’s handy to be able to dodge traffic jams on the main M6, those charges quickly add up. If you’re going to use the M6 toll regularly it makes sense to reduce the cost with a Breeze account.

This cuts the cost, allows you to drive through ‘Breeze’ lanes at the toll booths, and gives access to online statements to keep track of how much you spend. The M6 toll operators are also planning special offers from selected partners.

When you set up the account, you give details of the car or cars you drive and a means of paying the toll. Up to five cars can be included on one personal account. Automatic numberplate recognition does the rest, so you don’t have to stop and make a card payment each time at the toll booth.

Breeze account prices

Three zones
Motorbike: £4.30
Car: £8.90
Car + trailer: £12.90
Van/motorhome: £15.30
HGV: £15.90

Two zones

Motorbike: £3.70
Car: £7.40
Car + trailer: £10.80
Van/motorhome: £13.80
HGV: £14.60

One zone

Motorbike: £2
Car: £4
Car + trailer: £6
Van/motorhome: £9
HGV: £9

How do I pay the M6 toll?

Paying is easy. All major credit and debit cards are accepted (including Amex) while some fuel cards can also be used, assuming your company has configured them to pay for tolls.

Contactless payment is also accepted, and so are smartphone payment systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Cash is not accepted.

To pay, head up to a toll booth and use your debit, credit, fuel or contactless card.

If you have a Breeze account, then there’s no need to tap a card. Cameras will recognise your car and a charge will be made to your account.

Anyone with an older M6 toll account may have an electronic tag in their car. These still work, although account holders are automatically switched across to the newer Breeze account and can simply use number plate recognition rather than relying on the electronic tag.

Dedicated lanes for account holders save time when other users are queuing to make a payment.

Are there any exemptions to the M6 toll?

Yes. People with a disability can apply for a ‘mobility exemption’, which sees the M6 toll free to use. The exemption is issued to an individual vehicle rather than a person, so you cannot use it if you are travelling in someone else’s car.

To qualify, you will need to provide evidence of your disability, for example by showing your vehicle’s V5C logbook has the car-tax classification ‘disabled’, or showing evidence you receive certain disability-related benefits.

There are also exemptions for Armed Forces personnel while on duty and automatic exemption for police, fire, and ambulance vehicles.

What are the penalties for not paying the toll?

If you don’t have a method of payment with you when you use the M6 toll, some brief details will be taken from you at the booth, and you then have six days to pay the charge. Fail to do this and you will receive a £70 penalty, with a ‘payment recovery process’ being started. This will see the penalty passed to a debt-recovery agency, potentially bringing further charges in addition to the penalty and the original toll charge, together with the possibility of court action.

Is it worth using the M6 toll?

The M6 toll is a road of convenience, saving an average of 25 minutes per journey compared to using un-tolled roads in the area.

Whether you consider this worthwhile will depend on your personal circumstances, but given how heavy traffic can get on other roads around Birmingham, it can be a good option.

Even if you know where you are going, use a navigation app such as Google Maps or Waze to get some idea of the likely time saving by taking the M6 toll rather than another route such as the regular M6. That way you can make an informed decision as to whether it is worth paying to use the toll road.

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