Mersey tunnels
As such, the £37m annual cost of operating the tunnels would have to passed on to the five Merseyside boroughs. Neil Scales, the authority’s chief executive, said it would be “perverse and irrational” to pass the amendment because of the “dramatic and damaging” financial impact it would have.
A Merseytravel report stated that, according to the law, the authority could have increased the toll to £1.60 for cars, which would raise an additional £5.3m.
Leaving tunnel tolls unchanged will lead to a loss of £1.4m of income because tunnel use is predicted to fall by 1%.
Liverpool’s Cllr Jan Clein said: “At the moment, it’s the tunnel users who pay for the tunnel but what they are proposing is all the residents of Merseyside will pay for it, whether they use it or not – and that’s not fair for people who don’t use it.”
The amendment received only two votes.
John McGoldrick, from the Mersey Tunnels Users Association, said: “It is a relief they were not rash enough to increase tolls immediately.”
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