Commuters Can Save Hundreds of Euro with Bus Éireann’s Taxsaver Ticket

Commuters can save themselves up to 52 per cent on the cost of annual/yearly, part-yearly and monthly Bus Éireann tickets with the Taxsaver Commuter Ticket.

Customers already get great savings on Bus Éireann’s inter-city, commuter and city services and with the Taxsaver ticket further savings can also be made on Bus Éireann travel. For example customers commuting from Athlone to Galway can save up to €1, 397.76; from Dublin to Navan can save €1, 312.96, from Sligo to Ballyshannon can save €1,272.96 and many more savings to be made.

At a time when saving money is imperative for everyone, the Taxsaver commuter ticket from Bus Éireann enables companies to help employees substantially reduce their travel costs – in many cases by hundreds of euro. The Taxsaver scheme has proven to be a huge success with over 2,500 companies now purchasing Monthly, Part Yearly (Bus Éireann only) and Annual/Yearly tickets for their employees.

Reminding people to apply for the scheme this year, Minister for Public & Commuter Transport, Alan Kelly, is urging customers to full advantage of the opportunity to save money.

Minister Kelly Urges Customers to apply for saving

Speaking today, Minister Kelly said: “My Department is working hard to encourage more and more people out of the car and on to public transport as a fast, reliable, hassle-free, inexpensive way to make journeys. Particularly for commuters, schemes such as Taxsaver just make sense. You can save money and don’t have the hassle of parking charges, searching for change, queuing for tickets or the cost of fuel. I encourage anyone travelling regularly on commuter or other routes to examine the Taxsaver scheme; financially it has real benefits and it makes public transport very attractive.”

“At a time when reducing costs is critical for many people, Taxsaver enables commuters to potentially save hundreds of euro. We want to encourage people to see the benefits of getting the bus to work by sitting back, relaxing and not worrying about fuel costs, toll fees and parking charges,” said Andrew McLindon, Media and PR Manager, Bus Éireann.

Under Taxsaver from Bus Éireann, employers can purchase monthly, flexible part-yearly (tickets covering from two to ten months of travel) and annual/yearly bus tickets on behalf of their employees with the cost of the ticket deducted from the employees’ weekly or monthly salaries. Employers who take part in the programme benefit from a PRSI saving of up to 10.75 per cent.

Since Taxsaver commuter tickets are not subject to Tax, PRSI or Universal Social Charge, if the employee is paying the top rate of tax, 41 per cent, then this, along with the four per cent they pay in PRSI and the seven per cent Universal Social Charge, is deducted from the cost of the ticket giving a total saving of 52 per cent.

If the employee is on the lower tax band, i.e. 20 per cent, then they will achieve a saving of up to 31 per cent (20 per cent tax, four per cent PRSI, seven per cent Universal Social Charge) on the cost of their Bus Éireann monthly, part-yearly or annual ticket.

Examples of savings from having a Bus Éireann Taxsaver Commuter Ticket:

  • A person commuting from Gort to Galway whose annual/yearly Bus Éireann ticket usually costs €2,376 would benefit from savings of between approximately €1,235 and €736 on the overall cost of their ticket depending on their tax status.

Someone travelling daily from Drogheda to Dublin whose annual/yearly Bus Éireann ticket usually costs €1,920 would benefit from savings of between approximately €998 and €595 depending on their tax status.

While a person commuting from Youghal to Cork whose monthly Bus Éireann ticket usually costs €204 would benefit from savings of between approximately €106 and €63 per month depending on their tax status.

Other benefits for employees using the Taxsaver Commuter Ticket are:

  • Journeys are cheaper using pre-paid tickets than with cash
  • Less queuing with a pre-paid ticket
  • Unlimited 7 day point-to-point travel
  • The convenience of receiving travel passes in the workplace
  • Annual Bus Éireann Tax saver commuter tickets can be used on Nightrider Services

Employers also benefit from adopting the Taxsaver scheme. Not only can they make PRSI savings of up to 10.75 per cent of the total ticket cost for all employees, but the scheme is a low cost employee benefit, can be used as a recruiting tool, and can help free up and/or reduce the cost of parking spaces.

Employers can register for the Taxsaver Scheme at www.taxsaver.ie

Adoption of the Taxsaver Scheme by employers and employees also has a number of community benefits. It can help reduce traffic congestion by encouraging people to switch from the car to the bus and this has the added benefit of lowering carbon emissions.

Taxsaver tickets are valid for unlimited travel between two designated points on the Bus Éireann network. The city tickets (Galway, Cork, Waterford and Limerick) are valid for unlimited travel. The Taxsaver Scheme can be joined at any time of the year.

For more information on the Taxsaver Scheme please check out the website - www.taxsaver.ie, email info@buseireann.ie or by calling (01) 703 3435. Tax briefings are available at www.revenue.ie

 

Tuesday, 22nd November, 2011