After your mortgage/rental costs your mode of transport is probably the single biggest expenditure each month. Fuel, insurance, road tax and motor expenses stack up and drain at your wallet like a siphon pulling out the last drops at the garage.

So how can you cut the costs on transport? Your lifestyle and employment status will determine many of your choices.

For example, commuters may have to pay £10-15 for a few hours’ parking at the train station, which might be too far away for walking or cycling. And depending on the hour you need to get to work public transport such as a bus might not be viable.

It all stacks up to at least £2,500 for parking costs, and that’s not even taking into account the train costs themselves.

There are a train of ideas that could save cash. We assume that you don’t arrive at a completely empty car-park every morning, which means that other drivers are potentially suffering the same journey. Sites such as liftshare.com allow you to search for other motorists who are making essentially the same or a similar journey, allowing you to split the costs between you.

A little online research may uncover other parking destinations that are far cheaper or even free. For example, footballgroundguide.com presents suggestions for parking at or near grounds across the country – you’re looking for the equivalent for work. They may involve a little walk to the train station and hence leaving home earlier, but if it’s saving you big money then surely the stroll is worth it.

A third option is utilising the services of justpark.com, which allows you to rent an empty space at someone’s home. The site, currently the subject of a wildly successful investment drive on Crowdcube.com, allows users to search for an ideal location and view it on Google Maps. Typically the fee is around £5 a day, and not only could this service save you money, it could also make you money if you choose to use it for your own space.

Falling oil prices for the first time in what seems like an eternity translate to a drop in costs for the average journey; for example, the saving between a 20-mile journey in a 35mpg vehicle at 120p/litre and 140p/litre is 61p. That’s roughly £3 a week and £156 a year, so it might be worth shopping around on sites such as PetrolPrices.com and using different garages as there can be a real variation in prices within just a few miles.

It’s certainly worth shopping on comparison websites for cheaper insurance, not forgetting of course that some sites such as Aviva and Direct Line don’t appear on them. There are numerous ways that you can make your insurance cheaper, such as picking a different car, steering clear of modifications, increasing your excess, and many more factors. Building up a good no-claims bonus will also help.

For more inspiration on how to save money on transport, as well as bills, food fashion and leisure, take a look at these 101 tips inspired by advice from the Money Advice Service..