Drivers hit with £3.4m fines in three months
FINES from the Mersey Gateway Bridge slightly fell as motorists coughed up £3.4m over three months according to the most recent figures.
Quarterly figures for the crossing between Runcorn and Widnes have been released by tolls operator Merseyflow covering July to September.
And they reveal that the revenue from penalty charge notices (PCNs) was £3.4m over the three months
– down by around £200,000 from the £3.6m paid in April to June.
There has also been a slight reduction in the number of PCNs issued, with 166,000 handed out from July to September – 3,000 fewer than the previous three months.
Total revenue from the tolled crossing over the quarter stood at £13.1m, £200,000 more than the amount raised from April to June.
Journeys over the six-lane bridge have also reached a record high of 6.25m, with July’s total of 2.14m being the highest ever month for trips made across the bridge.
A Merseyflow spokeswoman said there has been an 18.5% reduction in the number of PCNs issued compared to the same period last year – more than 38,000 – and that 97.3% of journeys were paid for on time, the highest ever rate.
Journeys must be paid for either in advance or by midnight
● the day after crossing.
Merseyflow chief executive Neil Conway said: “This has been our best ever quarter. I am delighted to see the significant reduction in PCNs and an all-time high in journeys paid for on time, particularly when the quarter recorded the highest number of crossings made across the bridge.
“These statistics show that we are achieving our key objectives, improving the pay on time rates for the users of the bridge, and as a consequence of that reducing the number of penalty charge notices issued.
“The work we do to encourage people to register with us and pay on time is working, and we will continue to look at new ways to make it quicker and easier for users of the bridge to either register with us, or to pay their charge on time, as we want to see the trend of reducing PCN numbers and increasing traffic levels continue.”
Halton residents in council tax bands A to F can pay an annual £10 administration fee for unlimited personal journeys across the Mersey Gateway.
People living outside of Runcorn and Widnes can apply for a range of discounts on the Merseyflow website.
Mersey Gateway Crossings Board managing director Mike Bennett said: “It’s great to see more people using the Mersey Gateway Bridge and less people getting PCNs.
“We would much rather everyone paid on time or registered with Merseyflow.
“In an ideal world, we don’t want to issue any PCNs, so it is very positive to see this 18.5% year-on-year reduction.
“We’re now two years on from the bridge opening, so the ongoing increase in traffic levels shows people are benefiting from quicker, easier and more reliable journeys across the river.
“We know how important this reliability and access is to residents, commuters and the business community, so our focus is on maintaining that and improving the service wherever we can.”