ANTI tunnel toll campaigners say they feel “optimistic” after councillors voted not to impose a 10p increase this year.

Merseytravel was recommending a toll hike  - raising the cost of a one-way trip to £1.80. Drivers using Fast Tag payment would have seen the cost frozen at £1.40.

But at a meeting on Thursday, the committee decided to recommend a freeze instead, with members of Liverpool’s Combined Regional Authority approving the freeze on Friday.

As the tunnels are now “assets” of the Combined Authority (CA) – of which Wirral Council’s Labour leader Cllr Phil Davies is chairman – it was up to them to make the final decision.

A motion moved by Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson and seconded by Cllr Davies called for a task group to be set up to consider options open to them to reduce the cost of tunnel tolls and their impact on infrastructure and transportation.

It also asked for the head of paid service of the CA to produce a report for discussion to inform the setting of the tolls for 2016/17, as well as pushing for a review of the Mersey Tunnel Act in any ongoing devolution negotiations.

Mayor Anderson said: “We all accept that there has to be investment in it through maintaining it and keeping it operating and the staff costs, but a renegotiation to change the act is what we should be aiming for.”

Cllr Phil Davies said: “I welcome the freeze and certainly wearing my Wirral leader hat, I know my residents will welcome that as a lot are struggling with the cost of living.

“It’s timely that we look at the whole arrangement and costing and pricing etc for the tunnel toll.”

John McGoldrick, secretary of Mersey Tunnel Users' Association said the freeze was "a real surprise".

He told the Globe after Friday’s meeting: “Up until the beginning of the week the assumption was that Mersey Travel would recommend a toll increase.

“But even without this increase Merseytravel will in 2015 be making a profit of £15.4m from the tolls."

The Association has been arguing for a number of years for the tolls to be scrapped and Mr McGoldrick says the group now feels optimistic about the future.

“This is the first time that Merseytravel hasn’t had the final say, it’s the Combined Authority now.

“We said the same things to the leaders of the councils that make up the Combined Authority that we have been saying to Merseytravel for quite a few years now that they may not have been aware of," he explained.

“Joe Anderson in particular has changed his position this week because he was in the news at the beginning of the week saying he was going to vote for a toll rise – but instead, he is actually calling for them to look at the tolls and the tunnel act.

“We’re optimistic that something will happen. There’s no question of the tolls disappearing overnight but there’s now a completely different attitude with the Combined Authority than there was with Merseytravel.”