Anti-tolls campaigners are calling on motorists across the Liverpool city region to oppose plans to increase the cost of journeys through the Mersey Tunnel.
Leaders of the Mersey Tunnel Users Association are angry that Merseytravel officials have placed the item regarding toll increases on the agenda for this Thursday's budget meeting as a late item of "urgent business".
The proposals before a meeting of the Merseyside Integrated Passenger Transport Authority call for a 10p increase on the toll for a cars - seeing it rise to £1.50p, instead of the current cost of £1.40p.
Class 2 vehicles - including minibuses and small goods vehicles - will be charged £3.30; buses and vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes face a £4.90 toll and HGV drivers will have to pay £6.50
IPTA members are expected to approve the recommendation in a report from Chief Executive Neil Scales who says the time is now right to put through an increase that has been "discounted" for the last two years.
Secretary of the Mersey Tunnel Users Association, John Mc Goldrick said: "Merseytravel have again put this on the agenda as an item of urgent business. We feel this is a transparent tactic aimed at stifling debate on the subject, by whipping it onto the agenda at the last minute.
"Drivers and businesses are already facing painful increases in costs of motoring through the rise in fuel prices and the soaring cost of insurance and other services. To be faced a tolls increase on top of that is going to cause real hardship to individuals and damage to the economy of Merseyside and Wirral in particular.
"We would like to see as many people as possible register their objections to this proposed increase, in the hope that we can persuade the councillors on the Travel Authority that it is a mistake to push through this increase."
Councillors, who are nominated to run Merseytravel, from the five local authorities from former county of Merseyside, will vote on the proposal on Thursday at the Budget Meeting, starting at 2.30pm at 24 Hatton Garden, Liverpool. It is expected that some Lib/Dems and two Wirral Tories will vote against the proposals. However, that is unlikely to be enough to defeat the move.
Mr McGoldrick added; "The report to councillors suggests that tolls are actually good for Wirral jobs which anyone can see is patently untrue. The tolls isolate Wirral and distort free movement and damage the economy of the whole of Merseyside and Wirral in particular.
The proposed toll increase would yield an extra £1.86m revenue for Merseytravel and, according to statistics in the report, profits on the tunnels for the coming year are predicted to be around £7.8m.
In his report Mr Scales argues that if tolls failed to keep pace with other transport alternatives the Mersey Tunnels would see increased use and greater congestion, which would compromise the benefit the tunnels provided for users.
He says: "Were the tolls to be removed the traffic demand could increase by up to 40%; if all additional tunnel users were actually to travel during the morning peak.
"The average delay would increase to approximately 20 minutes for both directions and be experienced by approximately eight out of 10 tunnel users.
"The cost of the additional congestion to the economy, based on a 40% in tunnels demand, would be in the region of 12m per annum."
Mr Scales adds that "the clear effect of the tolls is to protect the Wirral retail economy."
He observes: "Half of retail spending by Wirral residents stays within Wirral, with a quarter in Birkenhead. "Were the tolls to be removed it is estimated that a net £80m of retail spending would be lost from Wirral - equivalent to some 600 retail jobs."
Mr McGoldrick rejected the arguments and said that examples all over the UK and in the rest of the world show that removing tolls does not cause congestion and instead tends to smooth traffic flows.
MTUA Chairman Dave Loudon added: "Despite developments such as Liverpool One, the Merseyside area is still one of the most deprived areas in England, and is particularly short of jobs.
"The region needs a toll increase like it needs a hole in the head. Ideally the tolls barriers would be removed, but short of that we hope that the councillors will kick this proposed increase into the long
grass."
A copy of the report from Mr Scales can be seen on the MTUA web site http://www.tunnelusers.org.uk/mitatollsreport3feb2011.pdf
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