If you have to travel regularly, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the cost of transport keeps going up. In January, the average price of rail fares in the UK increased by 2.2%. The price of petrol, which decreased briefly earlier this year, has already started to climb back to pre-reduction levels. So how do you keep your travel costs down and avoid being caught out by rising prices?

There are several ways to save on driving costs. The simplest method is to reduce the amount you spend on petrol. Supermarkets very often give out petrol-pump discounts to shoppers who spend a certain amount in their stores. So you can save money by doing your shopping and refuelling your car at the same time. Meanwhile, websites like petrolprices.com can help you find the cheapest petrol prices (without discounts) in your area.

 

Other ways to save on your car’s running costs include shopping around for the best car insurance deals and participating in car sharing schemes. While these methods don’t directly address the high price of fuel, they can help to offset it and save you substantial sums of cash.

 

But it’s not just drivers who can save on their travel costs. The recent increase in rail fares might look disastrous to those who rely on public transport, but there are a number ways to reduce the price to a more manageable level.

 

The easiest way to save on your rail costs is to get a rail card. These cards (which are valid on all UK rail lines) offer concessions to a wide variety of groups, including 16 – 25 year olds, disabled people, senior travellers, people travelling with children aged between 5 and 15, and people travelling together in pairs. Rail cards offer a discount of one third off your fares. With so many different kinds available, you might be surprised to find out that you’re eligible for one. 

You can also save money on train fares by booking your tickets in advance. Tickets booked in advance are often substantially cheaper than tickets bought on the day of travel.

The cost of travelling by road and by rail seems to be constantly increasing, and it’s been particularly noticeable lately. However, there are discounts and deals available, and the savvy consumer can easily take advantage of them. If you use all the advice we’ve given you, you’ll soon find that your transport costs are cheaper than ever.