Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge toll charges consultation gets underway

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Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge toll charges consultation gets underway

A consultation around proposed changes to toll charges and scheme details on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges gets underway today (Monday 4 November) and will last for six weeks.

Anyone can participate by visiting www.merseygateway.co.uk/consultation2024, where Halton Borough Council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board (MGCB) have published detailed consultation information, including a new draft Road User Charging Scheme Order.

Emails or letters are being sent to all vehicle owners who are registered as users of the bridges with toll operator merseyflow over the next few weeks, and consultation feedback forms are also available at Halton Direct Links in Widnes and Runcorn and at the merseyflow Walk-In Centre at Manor Park in Runcorn.

The consultation lasts until Monday 16 December. Once it is complete, the feedback will then be considered, alongside the financial requirements of the project, at a full meeting of Halton Borough Council early in 2025, where a decision on any charges will be made.

The proposed changes, which could take place from 1 April 2025, include:

• An increase in toll charges by approximately 20%
• An increase of £2 in the annual cost of a Local User Discount Scheme plan for those not using auto renewal
• An increase in Penalty Charge Notices from £40 to £50

The proposed increase would:

• be the first in seven and a half years since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened
• mean toll charges have increased by less than the cumulative RPI inflation rate – which has already reached 40% – since the Mersey Gateway Bridge opened in 2017.

The consultation also sets out and asks for views on a proposed timetable for future changes to toll charges and asks for feedback on what incentives would encourage people to open an account with tolling operator merseyflow.

In order to fund the project over its lifetime, it was always expected that toll charges would need to increase annually in line with inflation, but Halton Borough Council has been able to defer annual increases to minimise costs to motorists.

The MGCB’s recommendations set out a forward-looking plan where, if toll charges are increased by around 20% next April, then, barring unforeseen circumstances, they will remain at that level for three years. This would mean that by April 2028, toll charges would have increased just once in the first 11 years of the project.

Customers registered with toll operator merseyflow would continue to get discounted crossings where they are eligible as set out below:

• Registered pre-pay customers and monthly pass holders – specific discounted prices have not yet been finalised, but it is anticipated they would also increase by around 20%. This would mean a toll charge of £2.16 for sticker registered Class 2 vehicles compared to £2.40 for unregistered Class 2 vehicles.
• Local User Discount Scheme plan holders – the cost of a LUDS plan would increase by £2. However, there is a proposal for a discount to £10 for those eligible Halton residents who renew via auto renewal.
• Penalty Charge Notices – it is proposed that PCNs would increase from £40 to £50 in line with the toll charge increase.

Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “As part of this consultation we’re asking for people’s views on a range of issues like how often toll charges should change in the future and the proposed adjustments to the Local User Discount Scheme and PCN fees, as well as the headline changes in toll charges.”

He added: “This is an opportunity for people to contribute their views to inform the decision-making process in these areas. However, we are not consulting on the principle of toll charges. This was settled at the public inquiry held for the Mersey Gateway Project in 2009 and since then has been incorporated into the legal documentation for the tolling system.”