Merseytravel to offer free Christmas Day transport service
Transport authority Merseytravel is offering free bus services on Christmas Day to help hospital staff and visitors.
Cllr Mark Dowd, chair of Merseytravel, said: "We have worked hard to provide this special service for more than 20 years now. At this time of year it is important to think of those who are unfortunate enough to be spending Christmas in hospital; as well as all of those who are working hard to support them.
"We hope that by offering these services we can help people get to hospitals more easily. Without these services we know it would be very difficult and potentially costly for families to see their loved ones on Christmas Day."
Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, added: "We have been working closely with our operating colleagues to ensure that there are services over the Christmas and New Year period for the people who need them. The free Christmas Day transport is our contribution to supporting those people as best we can."
Free buses will operate a limited service on routes including:
- Liverpool – routes 10A, 20A, 92A, 102, 201 and 212
- Wirral – routes 110 and 118
- St Helens – routes 10A, 24X and 194/195
First buses go from around 12noon and run until around 6pm. Hospitals served include the Royal Liverpool, Liverpool Women's, Whiston, Walton, Alder Hey, St Helens, Broadgreen, Fazakerley, Clatterbridge and Arrowe Park.
A limited network of bus services on all major corridors will also run throughout the region on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, with most services operating between 10am-5pm, with some Arriva services running to and from Liverpool city centre on Boxing Day operating from 8am-7pm.
As in previous years, Mersey Ferries will operate every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Last sailings will be around 5.30pm on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Queensway Birkenhead Tunnel will be closed in both directions from 10pm on Christmas Eve, reopening at 6.30am on Boxing Day.
Kingsway Wallasey Tunnel will operate normally throughout the holiday period.
No train services will operate on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On New Year's Day all city line services will operate as normal and Merseyrail's Wirral and northern lines will be operating on a Sunday service.
Due to non-running Merseyrail trains, the Merseytravel Soccerbus service will not operate on Boxing Day for the Liverpool home game at Anfield against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but will do so as usual on all other match days throughout the festive period.
