Opening in 2017, the Mersey Gateway Bridge is the newest toll bridge operating between Runcorn and Widnes and spanning the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. As part of the 1.86 Billion project which began in 2014, the project’s toll operator Emovis were looking for a digital agency that could deliver an online ticketing platform that allowed users to register and pay for their crossings. The team at Emovis reached out to GRM as it was important that the team was a professional Kentico development agency with vast experience in seamless Kentico integrations.

Creating an efficient user experience

Paying for a toll crossing is a necessity to travel over the Mersey Gateway bridge, therefore the first key task was to ensure that the user experience was as fast and efficient as possible.

As a first step, GRM hosted a workshop which allowed us to further understand the key data requirements for making a toll booking. It was then decided that we would opt for a wizard-based booking system, presenting the user with a sequence of dialogue boxes that lead the user through a series of well-defined steps. This approach to the booking area served two purposes; capturing all of the required data to make a booking and creating a fast user experience with minimal room for error.

Services

Integrating with Emovis’ Revenue Collection System

With so many users set to cross the bridge on a daily basis, it was paramount that the finished website could securely integrate with Emovis’ Revenue Collection System. Kentico was the platform of choice, due to its ability to be seamlessly integrated with a host of third-party platforms. GRM's web developers worked alongside Emovis’ internal IT team to further understand their API and make sure that data was successfully syncing between the two platforms.

Launching ahead of the open day

The site was successfully launched ahead of the bridge open day, allowing users to easily create accounts, pre-order badges and pay in advance for their toll crossings. Merseyflow achieved 3304 registrations before midnight on the first day alone, over 6000 in the first working week and 8200 in the first month. Over 90% of customers chose to use the simple online booking platform, as opposed to the call centre and walk-in centre which were also available.

Results

3304 online registrations on the first day

6000 online registrations within the first working week

8200 online registrations within the first month