I've worked full time in Liverpool for the last 18 years. My options are limited to public transport as I don't drive. I only live three stops from the tunnel on the Birkenhead side, so it's only a a relatively short journey, nevertheless the time taken getting into Liverpool can vary depending on time of day. Although I live a lot nearer, perhaps some of my comments might still be relevant.
I almost always get the bus to and from work, as there's a stop right at the bottom of the street, less than a minute walk away. When I first started my current job, I used to get in to work for 9am and leave at five 5pm. I know now though that for users of the Birkenhead road tunnel, these are the worst possible times for congestion, plus I always almost had to stand up on the packed bus in both directions.
Thankfully, a flexi-time system was introduced at work just a few years after I started, and I now go out at 07:15 in the morning, signing in to work at around 07:40 every morning, so it only takes me 25 minutes door-to-door now as opposed to typically 45 minutes if trying to get in for 9am - so a saving of around 20 minutes, just by working earlier times.
I can now leave work at either around 4pm or 6pm (If I want to make a bit of time up), I could leave at 5pm but I almost always choose to avoid this, as some of the buses on my routes tend to get packed. It always takes me ten minutes longer going home than it does going to work as all buses call into the Birkenhead bus station on the way home (but not for me on the way to work). I don't want to exaggerate though, as outside of the 9am/5pm peaks (i.e. an hour either way), tunnel traffic can be pretty light. So that's ideal for me on the bus.
Another hazard of the road tunnels is that occasionally (typically once per month), a vehicle will break down in the tunnel at rush hour. This can result in long delays, as traffic will be reduced from two lanes to one until the vehicle is towed out. This can sometime result in buses being diverted via the Wallasey tunnel. Even emergency vehicle escorts can cause delays for ordinary road users, as buses and cars are often held back near the tunnel entrance for several minutes until the emergency vehicle goes through. If I know in advance of any tunnel issues (by checking local travel news), I will instead get the train to/from work. My ticket is an annual B1/C1 zones Trio, costing £756 per year, or exactly £63 per month. (Not quite as cheap as the bus operators' own tickets, but I prefer to have the rail option as a backup - plus I use it all the time at weekends for saving money on leisure trips by "ticket splitting" via Liverpool South Parkway/Huyton/Fazakerly etc..)
Going the other way from Birkenhead and outside the Merstravel PTE area, I have done a lot of weekend hiking around the Flintshire and Wrexham areas, having done walks from every single stop on the Borderlands line (including Hope) at one time or another. Whilst the Borderlands Line is great for casual weekend leisure trips and I do have personal affinity for the line, I would in no way like to depend on it for commuting to work every weekday.
Typically the Borderland Line trains run between five and fifteen minutes late (not so bad in the mornings, but tend to suffer a cumulative delay throughout the day), but the line does seem prone to disruption. Trips for me have been affected by a lorry striking a bridge, track adhesion problems, trains being turned around at Shotton to make up time and other unknown delays. Typical stuff for any railway line. Although cancelled trains on the Merseyrail lines are one thing, but a cancelled train on the Borderlands Line is much more serious as there is only one train an hour.
I was once looking into applying for a job in Wrexham, nothing came of it in the end. Although the Bidston-Wrexham Line might well have worked out the quickest on days when the service is running fine, I feel I would have had to have a "Plan B" of train to Chester followed by Chester-Wrexham bus or train. Most, if not all of the areas from Shotton to Wrexham served by the Borderlands line also have direct buses into Chester, from somewhere within walking distance.
I too would love to see the Bidston-Wrexham line electrified and integrated into the Merseyrail system. Previous plans have come to nothing. I understand the third-rail plans were abandoned due to prohibitive costs. Is OHLE and dual stock more likely in future? Maybe, but one thing we can be pretty sure of is the service will remain DMU operated at least over the next few years.
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