Closed petition Make tube and rail annual season tickets tax deductible

Closed on 4 January 2013

Tube and rail fares have risen once again. This is understandable in the sense that the infrastructure requires continual modernisation and this must be paid for somehow. However, with most median incomes rising considerably less than the fare rises, this puts a disproportionate burden on commuters.

We suggest that the government encourage commuters to buy annual season tickets by making the cost of them tax-deductible. This benefits the train companies by giving them a more known income stream (and money up-front), and benefits commuters by reducing the cost by around 20% - assuming the deduction is only for the lower rate tax payer.

Businesses are able to offset transport costs against profits, and thus save money at the corporation rate of tax. It only seems fair that individuals should be able to do the same thing, which will encourage more people to travel further to find work rather than remaining unemployed and allow higher retail spending which benefits everyone.