THE cost of travelling through the Mersey Tunnel is set to rise, under plans to be considered during a meeting next Friday (December 15).

Councillors on Merseyside's Combined Authority will be asked to back recommendations that the cash toll for car users rises by 10p to £2.10, an increase of 5%.

The proposals are part of a bid by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram to help keep travel affordable for local people during the cost-of-living crisis.

Also on the table is a freeze on the price of a car journey through the tunnel for city region residents with a T-FLOW account at £1.40 – a 70p saving on the cash toll.

It means people travelling through the Mersey Tunnels would continue to pay the lowest prices. Half of all Mersey Tunnels users are T-FLOW members who live in the city region, meaning that tens of thousands of people saving up to a third every day.

A spokesperson for the authority said any surplus generated by the Mersey Tunnels is reinvested back into supporting transport in the region, such as supported bus services.

Also covered in the report are proposed fares for buses and the Mersey Ferries. Under the recommendations, the £2 bus fare introduced by the Mayor will remain and the MyTicket, which allows all-day unlimited bus travel under-19s, will also be frozen at £2.20.

Mersey Ferries commuter service fares are to be held at £2.90 for a single and £3.80 for a return journey.

The plans also include a modest increase in ticket prices for Mersey Ferries leisure sailings – including the popular River Explorer Cruise – which will rise from £12 to £12.75.

If agreed most of these changes will come into effect in April 2024.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: "With the cost of living to continuing to put pressure on families across our region, I want to make sure we’re doing what we can to make travel as accessible, fair, and affordable for everyone.

"As well as keeping bus fares at £2 and bringing back the night bus, we’re freezing tolls for city region T-FLOW users too, to ensure that local people pay the lowest possible price to travel around our area.

"Thousands upon thousands of residents will benefit from these proposals and we’ll keep working hard to keep prices as low as possible, while still working to provide a better public transport system.

"Slowly but surely, we are beginning to see big improvements in our transport network as we build the London-style system that our area deserves.

"We’re taking back control of our buses, rolling out the country’s first publicly-owned trains in a generation and working to bring it together under a simple tap and go system.”