January travel offer 'will start 2025 in best way'

Allowing unlimited travel on Merseyrail at weekends throughout January for £2 will help people get "around the Liverpool City Region without worrying about cost", the area's mayor has said.

Steve Rotheram said the offer, which will also allow see tickets for children aged five to 15 reduced to £1, was "about making life better for people, whether that's getting to work, visiting family or just enjoying a day out".

The tickets will be available from 4 to 26 January 2025 on all Merseyrail lines and will be subsidised by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority from funds recovered from train manufacturer Stadler.

Mr Rotheram said he hoped "as many people as possible will take full advantage".

An authority representative said the move was part of a series of initiatives brought in by the mayor "to help reduce the cost of public transport in the city region".

Other measures have included freezing ticket prices on Merseyrail, capping bus fares at £2, offering unlimited daily bus travel for young people for £2.20 and "maintaining the country's most generous concessionary travel scheme... giving local people travel pass seven years ahead of the national scheme".

Mr Rotheram said making public transport "more affordable and accessible" was a key part of his mission "to build a transport network for everyone".

"This £2 unlimited travel offer will help start off 2025 in the best way by helping people get around the Liverpool City Region without worrying about cost," he said.

He said his administration had "delivered the UK's first publicly-owned train fleet in a generation" and he hoped "as many people as possible" would use the offer to see the region's best places "from the coastline of Formby and New Brighton to wonderful museums and cultural attractions in Liverpool city centre".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected]