The iconic Mersey Ferries will increase Commuter services from Monday 1 June.
With more people starting to move around the city region as lockdown restrictions start to ease, commuters are being asked to rethink how they travel.
And increasing numbers are turning to the world-famous Mersey Ferries for their original purpose – as a key mode of public transport.
The advice from Merseytravel’s ReThink Travelcampaign continues to be that people should only travel if necessary and think carefully about when and by what means they travel.
But, as more people return to work, the step up in Mersey Ferry services provides another valuable cross river option for commuters as space on all public transport is greatly reduced due to social distancing rules.
The additional commuter services each morning and evening and will be introduced on a phased basis, in anticipation of a further increase in the number of people needing to travel and get to and from work.
By 15 June there will be services running all day and at weekends providing people with more travel choices and to help spread demand on the city region’s transport network as a whole.
Travelling by Mersey Ferry offers the opportunity for people travel in the open air, with capacity to enable social distancing, supported by safe embarkation and disembarkation protocols.
It also offers a great opportunity to make cycling and walking part of the daily cross-river commute.
Mersey Ferries were temporarily suspended at the beginning of lockdown and as only a handful of passengers were using the services.
A decision was taken to re-instate the weekday commuter services in mid-may in direct response to the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Portfolio Holder for Transport for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said:
“Our iconic Mersey Ferries are back in service to support people travelling and they are a great way to incorporate walking and cycling into your journey.
“The commuter service only takes 10 minutes to cross the river and with social distancing being managed on board and plenty of car park spaces at Seacombe, people should take advantage of this fantastic way to travel.”
“There’s going to be more people on the move in the coming weeks and our Re Think travel campaign ask us all to consider if, how and when we will travel so that we can help keep everyone safe. This means planning our journeys including avoiding the peak and staggering journey times as well as paying by contactless as well as considering different ways to travel such as cycling, walking and the Mersey Ferries.”
Customers are advised to follow Merseytravel’s Re Think travel campaign and use the advice to plan their journeys and help keep everyone safe.
Social distancing measures are in place at both the Pier Head and Seacombe terminals and on board the vessels to protect both passengers and staff.
There is free parking for 370 cars at Seacombe Terminal. Customers are asked to pay for their tickets by contactless card and use the on-site ticket vending machines wherever possible.
Service information – for timetable details please go to the Mersey Ferries website.
Week 25 May
Weekday Commuter Service between 07:20-10:00 and 16:00-19:00
Week 1 June
Weekday Commuter Service between 07:20 – 11:00 and 15:00-19:00
Week 8 June
Weekday Commuter Service between 07:20 – 19:00
Week 15 June
Weekday Commuter Service between 07:20 –19:00
Weekend hourly cross river service 10:00-17:00
