News release
30 September 2020

Halton residents urged to renew their merseyflow annual pass

Mersey Gateway toll operator merseyflow is urging the thousands of Halton residents whose annual renewals are due in October to act now to renew their annual merseyflow discount plans.

To date over 8,000 Halton residents with October renewals have renewed their accounts. Merseyflow is issuing extra reminders to the remaining 4,500 Halton residents whose plans expire during October to act now to renew their annual merseyflow plan online at www.merseyflow.co.uk.

Renewing will mean they can continue to take advantage of discounted travel across the Mersey Gateway Bridge, and when it opens again, the Silver Jubilee Bridge.

Renewals peak every October – which is the anniversary of the Mersey Gateway Bridge opening. This year the annual plans of almost 13,000 Halton residents will expire in October. On top of this renewal peak there are also a further 36,000 Halton residents whose plans expire throughout the year too.

To avoid a rush of everyone renewing their annual passes all at one time, merseyflow starts this peak renewal period earlier each year and has already directly contacted all Halton residents whose accounts will expire next month, resulting in two thirds taking early action already.

The Mersey Gateway Bridge opened in October 2017, since when over 70 million quicker, easier and more reliable journeys have been made across the river in Halton, a large number of them by local people at a discounted rate.

Halton Borough Council set up the Halton Resident discount scheme, where residents can pay an administration fee of £10 a year for as many journeys across the river as they like, before the new bridge opened in 2017. Over 99% of Halton residents now benefit from the scheme.

Neil Conway, Managing Director of merseyflow said: “The early renewal scheme is straightforward and those residents who have used this in the past will understand the process. If you are renewing your 12-month plan now, then it will take effect from your current expiry date so you will still get a full 12 months of discounted travel. I’d like to say a big thanks to those customers who have renewed early and to our team which is managing the renewals.”

Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “We need to see up-to-date documents every year to ensure people continue to qualify. All residents who are eligible for discounted travel should re-apply in good time to make sure all documents are approved before their expiry date is up.”

Any Halton resident whose Halton Resident plan is due to expire before the end of October can renew online at www.merseyflow.co.uk now, following merseyflow’s simple five-step renewal guide.

• Step 1 – scan or take photographs of your valid driving licence, current council tax bill and V5C vehicle registration certificate ready to upload.
• Step 2 – log into your merseyflow account at www.merseyflow.co.uk and click ‘renew my plan’.
• Step 3 – pay your £10 annual administration fee.
• Step 4 – upload your documents.
• Step 5 – you will receive an email confirming your payment has been received. Merseyflow will then be in touch within the following five days to confirm the documents are all valid and have been accepted, or to tell people there is an issue with one or more of the documents that need validating.

All renewals will take effect from the expiry date of the existing pass, so no-one will lose out by renewing early.

It is also possible for people to renew in person at merseyflow’s walk-in centre in Runcorn if they don’t have access to the internet.

However they renew, eligible Halton residents will need to provide three current documents to confirm they still qualify for the Halton resident discount. These are:

1. 2020/21 Halton Borough Council tax bill showing their home is in property bands A-F.
2. A full valid UK driving licence showing their Halton address (Please check the expiry date on the licence).
3. Their vehicle’s V5C certificate showing their name and Halton address.

The documents need to be up to date to be accepted – so merseyflow is asking customers to check they provide the right documents to make the whole process as simple and easy as possible.

The Halton Resident scheme is only open to eligible Halton residents who drive cars and small vans for personal use. A range of other discount packages are available for people who live outside Halton or who live in the borough but don’t qualify.