T-FLOW Mersey Tunnel tolls and Liverpool city region bus fares are set to be frozen for local residents under proposals being considered next week. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is set to freeze T-FLOW tunnel tolls and bus fares for local residents.
Under proposals being considered at the next Combined Authority meeting on Friday, December 15, the price of a car journey through the tunnel for city region residents with a T-FLOW account would remain at £1.40 – a 70p saving on the cash toll.
This would mean local people travelling through the Mersey Tunnels would continue to pay the lowest prices. Half of all Mersey Tunnels users are T-FLOW members who live in the city region.
Any surplus generated by the Mersey Tunnels are reinvested back into supporting transport in the region, such as supported bus services that private operators will not run because they do not make enough profit.
Also covered in the report are proposed fares for buses and the Mersey Ferries. Under the recommendations, the £2 bus fare introduced by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram will remain.
The MyTicket, which allows all-day unlimited bus travel under-19s, will also be frozen at £2.20. Mersey Ferries commuter service fares are to be held at £2.90 for a single and £3.80 for a return journey.
Steve Rotheram said: “With the cost of living continuing to put pressure on families across our region, I want to make sure we’re doing what we can to make travel as accessible, fair, and affordable for everyone.
“As well as keeping bus fares at £2 and bringing back the night bus, we’re freezing tolls for city region T-FLOW users too, to ensure that local people pay the lowest possible price to travel around our area.
“Thousands upon thousands of residents will benefit from these proposals and we’ll keep working hard to keep prices as low as possible, while still working to provide a better public transport system.”
Mersey Tunnels demand a huge amount of electricity to keep them running and require year-round maintenance – yet the Mersey Tunnels receive no central government support.
Instead, it is left to the Combined Authority and Merseytravel to source the funds to keep the tunnels running safely and efficiently.
To help manage inflationary pressures and the high cost of energy, some changes to fees and charges are being proposed.
It is recommended that the Mersey Tunnels cash toll for car users, as well as T-FLOW charges for non-Liverpool city region residents, rise by 10p to £2.10.
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This represents an increase of 5%, below inflation and lower than the £2.70 maximum charge allowed under the Tunnels Act.
The proposals also include a modest increase in ticket prices for Mersey Ferries leisure sailings – including the popular River Explorer Cruise – which will rise from £12 to £12.75. If agreed most of these changes will come into effect in April 2024.