So called “salary sacrifice schemes” were devised to help employers purchase bikes or child care for their employees but a little known clause in the Transport Act 1985 allows them to be used for bus travel as well.

Your employer effectively buys your bus pass for you and then deducts the cost from your salary (usually in monthly instalments) before tax and national insurance.

A basic rate employee will have £201 deducted from their salary in return for a £300 bus pass thus saving £99 and a top rate tax payer will save £123 for the same benefit. And the cost is spread over a year so it doesn't feel as painful!

Employers also gain because they don’t have to pay the 12.8% employer’s national insurance contributions on the cost of the bus pass.

The 12,800 employees of Nottingham Council benefit from this scheme and private companies also enjoy the benefits.

The only downside is that it only applies to bus travel (not trains or trams) and only for journeys of 15 miles or less.