I read in an article in the Irish Independent yesterday that if you take the bus to work instead of driving your car, you could save money, thousands of euro per year depending on your journey.  With the increasing costs in fuel, Bus Eireann have said that it is cheaper to use public transport to travel to work for a month than it is to fill up your tank with petrol.

A survey carried out by Bus Eireann found that a person travelling to work by car from Kells, Co. Meath to Dublin would cost in petrol approximately €4725 per annum.  If that person travelled using a Bus Eireann weekly travel ticket, for the same journey for the year would cost that person €2702 which equates to savings of over €2000.   Further savings can be made by those persons eligible for tax-savings schemes.  In this day and age nobody can pass up saving money.

This tax saver commuter ticket scheme was set up to promote the use of public transport.  The cost of the ticket is deducted from the employees gross pay which means that this amount is not subject to tax and PRSI.   Both the employer and employee save money by signing a contract stating the type of annual ticket required. The employer deducts the cost of the ticket through the payroll system.  Companies can save up to 10.75% in PRSI while employees can save between 31% – 52% in tax, PRSI and USC.

If you are on a public transport route and you drive to work, you should consider leaving the car at home to save money.   Public transport has much improved over the years with the introduction of bus lanes, it is certainly a quicker journey by bus than by car if travelling at peak times in the city.  The above figures only takes into account the cost of petrol, it does not include the additional costs including parking and wear and tear.