THE date that reduced Mersey tunnel tolls come into force has been confirmed by Merseytravel.

Metro mayor Steve Rotheram’s plans to slash tolls for people living in the Liverpool City Region were agreed last week.

The plans formed part of his budget for the coming year, with plans for a new ‘metro mayor tax’ also getting the go-ahead.

But people in the city region will have to wait until the reduced prices come into effect.

When will the new toll prices come in – and how much are they?

It has been confirmed that the new tolls will come in to force on 1 April.

From that point the price for fast-tag users living in the city region will be cut from £1.20 to just £1 at all times of the day – every day of the year.

But prices for fast-tag users from elsewhere will go up to £1.80.

Mayor Rotheram introduced a partial saving last year – dropping the fast-tag price to £1 at off-peak times (7pm to 7am Monday to Saturday and all day Sunday).

He was criticised by some at the time for failing to deliver one of his key election pledges – but his new proposals, set to be agreed at a meeting of the combined authority’s Transport Committee – will go the full way to delivering on that pledge.

The reduced price will only be available for people living in Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Knowsley.

The cost of cash journeys is also being frozen as part of the new pricing system.

That means journey for car drivers paying by cash will stay at £1.80.

The tolls for all other vehicles – including large vans, coaches and HGVs – will also be held at 2018 rates, ranging from £3.60 to £7.20 based on the weight of the vehicle.

Introducing the proposals last month, mayor Rotheram said: “I’m pleased today to be able to submit a proposal for a new £1 Fast Tag toll, delivering on the commitment I made during my election.

“If approved, this will be the lowest tunnel toll in over 25 years, with the rate available to the people of the Liverpool City Region 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.

“Nobody likes to have to pay to use the tunnels, but they are a critical element of the city region’s infrastructure and we do not receive any central government funding to effectively operate, maintain and upgrade them.”