A business leader reacted with fury last night following an announcement that the charge for using the M6 Toll is to rise by an inflation-busting 12.5 per cent.
Car drivers will pay #4 to travel along the 27-mile stretch of road from January 1 – up from #3.50 at the moment.
The charge for HGVs will also rise by 12.5 per cent, from #7 to #8.
Jerry Blackett, chief executive of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the West Midlands Business Transport Group, said it was "astonishing" that M6 Toll owners Midland Expressway were allowed to charge what they liked.
Mr Blackett wants the Government to appoint an ombudsman to investigate the pricing structure.
He blamed the Government for being so desperate to secure #900 million private sector funding to build Britain's first privately-operated toll road that it had failed to impose strict enough regulations on Midland Expressway.
Mr Blackett added: "I don't blame the operators because they negotiated this brilliant deal."
This will be the second increase in toll charges since the road opened in 2003. Charges were increased by 17 per cent in July 2005.
Tom Fanning, chief executive of Midland Expressway, said last night: "The M6 Toll continues to be the most reliable route through the West Midlands, by-passing the congested M6."
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