How to save money on your commute with employee benefits
When it comes to helping employees make their pay cheque go further, many employers turn to lifestyle benefits. However, employees can save loads on their work commute with employee benefits.
The typical amount UK employees spend on their commute to work can vary greatly. Let’s take travelling by car as an example.
Fuel prices can vary greatly, but let’s say you spend £1.20 per litre of fuel, travel 20 miles a day at an average of 40 miles per gallon, you’ll probably spend around £600-£700 a year on fuel just from commuting to and from work!
How can employee benefits help reduce this cost? We’ll cover this a further in this article, and we’ll also cover how employees can save on other ways of commuting.
Commuting Loans
For those who travel to work using public transport, commuting loans (or season ticket loans) are a great way to save. Travelling by public transport can be costly, particularly when travelling by train.
Over the last year, there’s been a 3.5% increase in season ticket cost for rail travel in the UK. For those travelling around London, it’s even more expensive. For someone travelling to the capital from Reading, a season ticket would cost around £4,600.
Season ticket costs are increasing faster than wages, so commuting loans are becoming more and more important. How much you save with a commuting loan will vary. However, many report a saving of around 20%. Using a commuting loan to pay for your season ticket from London to Reading therefore could save you around £920!
As mentioned, costs and savings will vary greatly. What you pay for your season ticket or rail travel and what you save through commuting loans will differ. Either way, with commuting loans you’re virtually guaranteed to save.
If you work in or around London, you should definitely consider using a commuting loan if your company offers it. More and more people are moving to the outskirts of London or even further and commuting in due to rising living costs. Even more are looking to relocate with the introduction of HS2.
If your company doesn’t offer it, you can always raise it as something you and other employees would use. The scheme has numerous benefits for both employers and employees. You could even refer them to us, and we’ll help set them up!
Parking Loans
Whether this will benefit you depends entirely on your company’s workplace parking and what your role at the company involves.
If you travel as part of your role, a parking loan will help you save money on parking at car parks throughout the country.
Bike to Work schemes
There are loads of reasons to cycle to work. The improvements you’ll see in your health and fitness alone are a great reason. But cycling to work can also save you a great deal of money on your commute.
While schemes like the commuting loan are there for those with longer journeys to work, the bike to work scheme is ideal for those with shorter journeys. By buying a bike through your company’s cycle to work scheme, you’ll save on National Insurance (NI) and tax through salary sacrifice.
If you usually travel by car, the savings you’ll make on fuel alone by travelling by bike even just a few months a year are worth it.
Liftshare
If your commute is too long to travel by bike, but too short to consider commuting loans, why not try liftsharing?
Liftsharing itself of course isn’t an employee benefit, however your employer can make it easier for you by offering a liftshare scheme through your employee benefits platform if you have one.
With a liftshare scheme, you’ll be able to see who you could liftshare with in your company.
If you usually drive to work, you’ll save on the cost of fuel. If you usually commute using public transport, you’ll save on expensive bus passes or rail season tickets for example.
Flexible working and working from home are also great for reducing commuting costs, for obvious reasons. More and more companies are introducing flexible working policies, so speak to your employer and see if flexible working and working from home would suit you and your company.
Whatever you do as an employee, communicate with your employer about how they can help you reduce the cost of your commute to work. There’s nothing to lose in asking, and the schemes and policies mentioned here will not just benefit you but your company as well!
Looking for a comprehensive employee benefits platform? We’ve got you covered.
