Thousands register as tolling system opens
THOUSANDS of residents from across Halton and beyond have successfully registered for the Mersey Gateway tolling system.
Merseyflow went live at 8am on Monday, July 17, and by midnight 3,304 people had signed up.
Frank Forshaw, 77, from Runcorn, was the first person to visit the walk-in centre at Manor Park on Monday morning to register for the local user discount scheme.
He said: “I wanted to register faceto-face. I thought that I’d come along and have a look, I noticed there wasn’t a queue so I thought I would sign up.”
Motorists in the borough who live in a home in council tax band A to F can register their vehicles for unlimited travel across both crossings between Runcorn and Widnes.
An annual £10 administration fee will have to be paid and Halton residents can register one vehicle per person.
The website – www.merseyflow.co. uk – is one of the ways to register and is the quickest option.
Residents can also register by phone or through visiting the walk-in centre on Howard Court in Manor Park, Run- ● corn. A registration service will also be run in Widnes at the Halton Direct Link on Brook Street from Monday, July 24.
However, the Widnes service is currently due to operate only until the end of August.
Blue Badge holders will also be able to register for unlimited travel on the bridges after providing copies of the front and back of their badge and pay a one-off £5 administration fee.
According to the merseyflow website, those Blue Badge holders who change their registered vehicle will have to pay another £5 one-off fee.
Once registered, residents will receive a sticker to place in their registered vehicle’s windscreen which will be recognised when travelling across the new bridge.
It will still be possible to cross the bridge without registering, but those who do will have to pay the full toll fee which is £2 per car per crossing, with additional charges for larger vehicles.
Anthony Alicastro is chief executive officer of Emovis Operations (Mersey) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of emovis, which runs the merseyflow operation.
He said: “The walk-in centre had a constant stream of people registering from 8am yesterday, while we have seen a huge amount of visitors to our website - www.merseyflow.co.uk.
“There has been a huge amount of interest online, at the walk-in centre and from people contacting us over the phone.”
Merseyflow has produced a range of leaflets to help explain the registration process to people that live in Halton.
David Parr, chief executive of Halton Borough Council, said: “This is an important step in our journey towards the opening of the Mersey Gateway.
“Once registered you will be able to travel across the new bridge as soon as it opens, and the Silver Jubilee Bridge, when work to refurbish it is completed.”
The new bridge is scheduled to open this autumn.
When the Mersey Gateway opens, the Silver Jubilee Bridge will be closed to road traffic for up to 12 months while it is refurbished.
During this time the Silver Jubilee Bridge will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists and will be tolled when it reopens.
The opening hours for the walk-in centre and call centre are 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 6pm on weekends and bank holidays.
For information call 01928 878 878.