RESIDENTS are being urged to sign up for another year of discounted fares for crossing the Mersey Gateway Bridge.

People living in Runcorn and Widnes are allowed unlimited journeys across the river in cars and vans for £10 per year.

With the discounts being an annual scheme, around 33,000 Halton residents who originally registered for Mersey Gateway crossing will now need to reapply.

Anthony Alicastro, managing director of toll management company Merseyflow, said: “Our whole aim is to make this as simple and easy as possible.

“We’ve made some improvements to the Merseyflow website to simplify the process, and we’re able to provide much more guidance for customers to help them through the process.

“We’ll be contacting all Halton residents who need to renew their plan over the next few weeks, so all people need to do is follow the instructions to get another year of discounted trips.”

Renewals will take effect from Sunday, October 14.

Mike Bennett, managing director of the Mersey Gateway crossings board, added: “These discounted crossings for the vast majority of Halton residents are made possible because Halton Borough Council reinvested its share of the savings made during the procurement and construction phase to fund the scheme.

“The council felt this was an important priority and it is essential that people renew their plan every year to continue to benefit from the scheme.

“We want everyone who qualifies to make sure they reapply in good time – we need to see up to date documents every year to make sure that people continue to qualify, but everyone who applied a year ago will find the process is very familiar and straightforward.”

To reapply, go to merseyflow.co.uk or visit Merseyflow’s walk-in centre in Runcorn.