Tunnel toll protestors stage fee hike demonstration (From Wirral Globe)

Motorists both on the Wirral Side plus the Liverpool Side, should only use the Staffed booths on all occasions.
Yes this will cause some delays, but it will emphasize the unrest of ever increasing tunnel fees.
At worst it will force the management to staff all of the booths, thus creating some small employment for additional opperstors.
At best it will make absolutly clear that enough is enough, of imposing an extra tax on the local population both sides of the river.
Plus there should be some representation from the rank and file tunnel users into just what happens to the vast profits, by including them on the decision makeing panel.
And I do mean ordinary members of the public not the councillors who only attend to recieve some quite substantial expences, whilst the CEO recieves a salary and benefits double what the Prime Minister earns.
What is happening right now is wrong on so many levels.

Disgraceful. 8% of this huge crowd of protesters were MPs! Well, an MP. And not a very good one at that.

This one unfortunately completely passed me by I never saw the planned protest 'advertised anywhere' and with respect standing on top of a bridge isn't the way to protest effectively. Shame all the same that the apathy the Wirral it seems is blessed with in an abundance results in a poor poor show.
I started my own personal protest as soon as the increase was decided, instead of coming home via the tunnel I come home via the M56/M53, I am 'fortunate' enough to be able to do so viably, I appreciate it isn't an option open to everyone but I recommend it if you can. As a result I am spending £5+ a week less with this robbing bunch.
I would suggest one of the following tactics ongoing until these morons see sense.
1) As others have said use the manned booths and boycott the 'self-serve' booths.
2) Use only the off side lane of the tunnel therby doubling the queue length at peak times and causing bus travel delays. (leaves the NS lane free for emergency vehicles Ambulances, Police etc)
3) As Birkenhead Tunnel has a speed limit of 30mph (& Wallasey 40mph) travel through safely at 10 mph below the speed limit.

Yes all options are punitive to the motorist but we need to disrupt this lot to the point of they get sick of complaints from their own employees, bus companies, the Police too for any delays will soon cause gridlock on the roads on the tunnel approaches.

Also why not start a 'ribbon campaign'? As in to show we are in this together we tie a piece of ribbon to our car aerials. (Suggest Sky blue as there is no association with local football teams then).! Mine is going on my car tonight!

Let us not lie down and take this without causing MT executive 'grief'.

I reckon the ferries should be free at peak times, and free parking at Seacombe & Woodside increased tenfold. They are making a fortune during the day from tourists on the boats, which could subsidise them.

A Dutch 'PTE' runs a free boat across an equally wide river in Amsterdam every 5 mins. Merseytravel have a monopoly on all three methods of crossing the river and it's time they gave a proper alternative for those from Wirral who are ripped off each day simply for going to work in Liverpool.

Travelling from Wigan or Preston costs less than from Wallasey by car.

"Plus there should be some representation from the rank and file tunnel users into just what happens to the vast profits, by including them on the decision makeing panel."

It's a fine idea, however personally I can't see Merseytravel councillors voting for independent members (like the Merseyside Police Authority has or other public bodies do) as it takes power away from political parties.

"Motorists both on the Wirral Side plus the Liverpool Side, should only use the Staffed booths on all occasions."

Disabled users entitled to a Fast Tag and free trips are forced into using the Staffed toll booths anyway. They're not allowed to use the Fast Tag unmanned booth round to the left as you come out of the tunnel on the Wirral side.

I am a member of the public and also am standing in Bidston & St. James as the Lib Dem candidate in Wirral Council elections. The problems regarding the tunnels are as follows:-

Merseytravel is made up of 18 councillors. 10 are Labour. The others are Lib Dem and Tory.

Regarding the representation from Wirral it has four. All four councillors from Wirral vote against a toll increase it leads to deadlock - 9:9. The Labour Chair then uses his casting chair to put it up.

Like in a lot of other areas (eg planning committee) the crucial votes are made by people representing places largely unaffected by the decision.

I've read through the whole of Merseytravel's budget. The only way you could make Mersey Tunnels free (or reduce the charge) is by paying off the debt and/or reducing the running costs.

Merseytravel has to set a legal budget each year on revenue and capital (eg balanced).

The only project with a big enough budget to do that (short of cutting investment elsewhere) is Merseytram. Merseytram is of no benefit to the people of Wirral yet hundreds of millions will be spent on it and many millions already have.

I'm sure others can dig into the figures or I could request them from Merseytravel. However in 2008, Merseytravel had as part of the Merseytram scheme spent £28 million on consultants, £15 million on moving utilities, £17 million on design and management costs.

The District Auditor stated:-

"Merseytravel did not pay sufficient attention to managing risk and should not have committed resources at the rate it did;

Merseytravel did not have adequate financial reporting and monitoring arrangements to demonstrate that money spent on the scheme represented value for money;

Merseytravel did not engage sufficiently with all the councils in the area;

There was limited opportunity for challenge and too much reliance was placed on too few individuals;"

Until more scrutiny is put on Merseytravel by the public and press, the culture that has developed there seems unlikely to change (much).

IF everyone uses the staffed booths and requests a receipt. Then at the end of the month send all your receipts to the chair of Merseytravel.
I think he will soon get the message...

Good to hear everyone's moaning
about ten pence

ITS NOT 10 PENCE ITS £1.50

The Mersey Tunnels act only allows for the toll to be increased. Now given that the Labour party had an involvement in this act why would they only increase the toll. Its mainly working people who use the tunnel so why would the so called working class party want to fleece the working class ?
Labour are only the party of the public sector workers and the idle scroungers.

Yes. I agree. The Conservatives are the party of the honest, hard working, tax paying people in society. And I used to be a frog. With eleven legs.

Oh I see. If you criticize Labour Duh....You must be a Conservative.

@Jayo

"The Mersey Tunnels act only allows for the toll to be increased."

The Mersey Tunnels Act can be read here - http://www.legislati
on.gov.uk/ukla/2004/
2/contents/enacted

If you read the Act (Schedule 1) you'll find the following - http://www.legislati
on.gov.uk/ukla/2004/
2/schedule/1/enacted


Section 92C Power to cease demanding tolls etc

(1)The Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority (which means Merseytravel) may—

(a)cease to demand, take and recover tolls in respect of traffic or any class of traffic passing through or into any of the tunnels;
(b)resume demanding, taking and recovering such tolls; and
(c)allow traffic, or any class of traffic, to use any of the tunnels without paying tolls or on payment of tolls at a reduced rate during such hours, on such occasions or in such other circumstances as it may from time to time determine.

So what you write isn't accurate. The Act also allows tunnel tolls to be frozen or reduced too.

johnbrace.
If you are going to be pedantic then obviously they can be frozen as we have all seen. As that has been the case I didn't think I had to waste time pointing that out.
The a,b,c, parts of the act you have reprised cover a TEMPORARY "free" passage more than likely in event of a serious accident or even terrorist attack to ease panic or congestion or even a series of events that will never happen covered by the Health and Safety act. And reduced rate for a major event promotion of some kind.
So what I wrote was to cover the permanent toll and not a temporary toll as you corrected.
*
To recap my view. The tunnel passage will never be PERMANENTLY free while Labour councilors are prominent on the Merseytravel board.

@Jayo

It isn't just in the emergency circumstances you refer to.

It's already free to Blue Badge holders, those who get a war pension on mobility grounds and certain types of benefits.

http://www.merseytun
nels.co.uk/nossl/htm
l/concessionary.php

However the last budget passed by Merseytravel by Labour did say they would review this and possibly start charging the disabled.

The truth is the debt could be paid off, it could be brought into the national road network and its maintenance would just come out of general taxes.

Like many Wirral residents, including my late grandfather we were all told the tolls were a temporary measure and that one day they would be free! When will that be?