If so, then good on you! More and more companies are putting schemes in place to enable their employees to travel to work cheaply and safely – without damaging the environment.

A travel plan can work as a strategic business tool to:

• increase productivity from a healthier workforce
• reduce demand for car parking, with less congestion and better access for employees, visitors, deliveries and the local community
• reduce maintenance costs for the provision of car parking spaces
• offer an improved environmental image for your company

A travel plan can help towards environmental accreditation such as ISO 14001. You may even be required to produce a travel plan to accompany a planning application as part of a section 106 agreement. PPG13 (March 2001) states that it is appropriate for local authorities to require applications for all major sites to be accompanied by a travel plan. It recommends that ‘where travel plans are to be submitted alongside a planning application, they should be worked up in consultation with the local authority and local transport providers.’

Where an employer helps employees to get to and from work, such as by providing petrol or season tickets, these benefits are normally taxable. But there is no benefit-in-kind tax or NICs to pay if an employer offers:

• free or subsidised work buses
• subsidies to public bus services
• cycles and safety equipment made available for employees
• workplace parking for cycles and motorcycles.

“Employers can offer their employees a free or low-interest season ticket loan up to £5,000 per year. There is no tax or NICs to pay provided the full amount of the loan is repaid to the employer and total loans outstanding do not exceed £5,000 (at any time)."  - Nov 05 HM Revenue and Customs.

* Payment of tax using the P11D form can be made with the Inland Revenue to cover issues of the proportion of season ticket use that is for personal and  company use. You can also use the Corporate Megarider as part of a salary sacrifice scheme.

A Stagecoach Corporate Megarider qualifies as part of this scheme!

For more information on how your company can benefit from tax breaks through Corporate Travel Plans you can visit HM Revenue and Customs at www.hmrc.gov.uk/green-transport/travel-plans.htm. If you are interested in setting up a green travel plan then visit www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable. This site includes a comprehensive pack to help you through the process.

Of course, you also get peace of mind knowing that your employees have a safe and reliable method of getting to and from work, and not one that is going to cost them the earth. It can act as a valuable added job benefit, aiding recruitment and staff retention as well as improved staff attendance and timekeeping.

Petrol, insurance, tax and car parking charges are all "hidden" costs of travelling by car. Going by public transport is a real competitive alternative - and it’s good for the environment too. A Stagecoach megarider ticket reduces the cost of travel even more, and also gives piece of mind that costs aren’t going to increase dramatically if you have a lot of places to get to that week, as you can travel whenever you want for just one cost. Take a look at the illustration to the right.

The beauty of the Megarider is that you can use it whenever you want! Take it shopping, to the pub, to the cinema, sight-seeing. You can ride our buses all day if you want! The Megarider gives you the freedom to choose when and where you’d like to travel, and all for one simple cost.

Traffic jams, scrabbling for change, fights over parking spaces... who needs it? There’s nothing worse than arriving at your desk for work stressed and het up because of driving. So, why not let us take control and do all the work!

With a Stagecoach annual Megarider, you pay one yearly payment to travel on all of our services, whenever you want, within the specified zones. We currently offer annual Megariders in 5 different zones. Newcastle, South Shields, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Teesside.

The Stagecoach Corporate Annual Megarider is a discounted version of our annual Megarider ticket. Because we only deal with a company representative, rather than individual employees, we are able to cut down on our administration costs and then offer these back as corporate discount. Even though our annual Megariders already offer discounted travel, a corporate scheme still typically offers a further 5% off the usual price.

To qualify for the scheme, we require the company to purchase the tickets in full on behalf of the employee at the time of application. The company would then recoup this cost back from the employee through monthly instalments taken from their salary.

If your employees need to travel for work, we offer discounted voucher booklets for our Dayrider and weekly Megarider tickets. These are ideal to use to give to employees instead of reimbursing travel expenses. The vouchers are serialised and each company is provided with an individual validation stamp for issuing purposes. Contact us for prices for individual areas.

We offer 5 different zone options for corporate Megariders: Hartlepool, Newcastle, South Shields, Sunderland and Teesside.

• 5 different zone options: Sunderland, Newcastle*, South Shields*, Teesside* or Hartlepool*.
• Valid for travel on any Stagecoach bus at any time in the designated zone
• Available as an annual ticket – refundable at any time on a pro-rated basis**
• Available through corporate schemes only, minimum of 5% discount on standard annual tickets

* In some zones, Megariders are not valid for travel on all services. A Megarider plus is available in this instance. Please contact us for further details.

**Any refund is subject to a £15 administration fee.

Click here for details of the application process and also to view full terms and conditions...