Boris Johnson wants to allow bus travelers to purchase annual passes before tax in a bid to save money.

Writing in the Telegraph on Sunday yesterday (October 6th) the Mayor of London commented that transport is expensive for those who commute on a daily basis.

Mr Johnson's proposals involve employers paying the costs for a pass, subtracting this amount from the staff member's net wages. As an example, he states an annual pass costs £784 but under his suggested method the employer would save £108, while the employee would save £251 through taxes and national insurance.

He called on George Osborne to consider implementing this proposal, arguing that regular commuters are just as important as tourists using the infrastructure - yet those who do not use the network regularly should not benefit from such savings.

He said: "We need a scheme that is analogous to the government help currently given to child-care vouchers or cycle-to-work schemes."

The politician's announcement follows previous discussions on the expense of travel. The Transport Salaried Staff's Association recently revealed that some ticket prices have risen by 210 per cent since 1995, while transport minister Norman Baker has announced plans to limit future increases to four per cent annually.