Users of the Mersey tunnel have called for the tolls to be axed while the rail network connecting Liverpool and Wirral is under repair.
Trains will be out of action for six weeks from January as Merseytravel carries out work on replacing its trackbed following 40 years of daily operation.
It means that commuters will be unable to use the city centre loop service which is set to see an increased demand at the Birkenhead and Wallasey tunnels.
Dave Loudon, chair of the Mersey Tunnels Users Association, has urged all six of Merseyside’s councils to consider temporarily waiving tunnel fees.
He outlined the plea in an email to Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, Wirral chief Phil Davies and the leaders of Sefton, St Helens, Halton and Knowsley councils.
He said: “Removing toll barriers and toll collection for the six weeks in January would ease the flow of vehicles into and out of the Tunnels.
“On behalf of all those drivers and businesses that will be using the Tunnels during that time, I ask that you tell Merseytravel to stop the tolls for that period.
“To keep collecting tolls in this situation would show that Merseytravel and the Authority are more interested in profits than they are about the people and businesses that use the Tunnels.
“It is doubly unfair as Merseytravel may be expecting to make even more Tunnels profit for the six week period while those using the Tunnels experience lengthening queues.
“Merseytravel may tell you that removing the tolls for six weeks would increase the traffic, but in our view any increase in traffic would be more than offset by the benefit of removing the tolls.”