Mersey Gateway toll operator merseyflow is urging over 12,000 Halton residents to act now to renew their annual discount plans.

To date over 7,000 residents have renewed their accounts, so merseyflow is issuing reminders to over 12,000 Halton residents whose plans expire during October to act now to renew their annual merseyflow plan.

Renewing will mean they can continue to take advantage of discounted travel across the Mersey Gateway Bridge.

Renewals peak next month – the second anniversary of the bridge opening – when the annual plans of 20,000 Halton residents will expire.

On top of this renewal peak there are also a further 25,000 Halton residents whose plans expire throughout the year too.

To avoid a rush of everyone renewing their annual passes all at one time, merseyflow has decided to start this peak renewal period earlier and has directly contacted all Halton residents whose accounts will expire next month.

Mersey Gateway Bridge opened in October 2017, this resulted in drivers from across the country to have had two million journeys every month.

Halton Borough Council set up Halton Resident discount scheme, where residents can pay an administration fee of £10 a year for as many journeys across the river. Over 99% of Halton residents benefit from the scheme.

Neil Conway, Managing Director of merseyflow said: “The early renewal scheme is straightforward and those residents who used this last year 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.”

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 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.

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 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.