Trip Cost Calculator
Enter the distance and what the car returns, add tolls and parking, and say how many of you are going. This gives the total and what each person owes.
Trip cost
$88.67
- Fuel
- $56.67
- Tolls and parking
- $32.00
- Each, split 4 ways
- $22.17
- Fuel used
- 16.67 gallons
- Priced there and back.
- Fuel, tolls and parking are the out-of-pocket costs. The full cost of the miles — tyres, servicing, depreciation — is roughly two to three times the fuel, which is what a mileage rate is meant to cover.
About trip costs
A road trip has three out-of-pocket costs: the fuel, whatever the road charges you, and whatever it costs to leave the car at the other end. This adds them up and divides by the people in the car.
Fuel is the part that depends on the vehicle, and it is worth entering the economy the car actually returns rather than the brochure figure. A loaded car with luggage on a long motorway run is usually a few per cent worse than its everyday average, and a roof box can cost ten to twenty-five per cent on its own.
The split is the part people arrive for, usually mid-conversation about what a lift is worth. Dividing the whole cost by everyone including the driver is the ordinary convention, on the grounds that the driver would have paid the whole thing alone.
What this does not include is the wear the journey puts on the car. Tyres, servicing and depreciation are bought by the mile whether or not anyone writes a cheque for them, and together they typically cost two to three times the fuel. That is what a mileage rate exists to cover, and it is why a fair figure to charge a passenger may be more than a share of the fuel alone.
What it works out
- Fuel for the journey, one way or return
- Tolls and parking added in
- The cost split between everyone in the car
- Miles or kilometres, any fuel price
The formula
Total = (Distance ÷ Economy × Price) + Tolls + Parking Each = Total ÷ People
There and back is 500 miles. At 30 mpg that is 16.67 gallons, and at $3.40 a gallon the fuel comes to $56.67.
Adding $12 of tolls and $20 of parking gives $88.67 for the journey. Split four ways, that is $22.17 each.
The fuel is a little over three fifths of the total here. On a shorter journey into a city the proportions invert entirely — parking can easily exceed the fuel — which is why tolls and parking are fields rather than an afterthought.
The figure this deliberately leaves out is the cost of the miles themselves. Five hundred miles of tyre wear, servicing and depreciation is real money, and at a typical mileage rate it would add well over a hundred to the total. Whether a passenger should contribute to that is a question about the arrangement rather than about arithmetic.
- Distance
- One way. The return option doubles it.
- Economy
- What the car returns loaded, which is usually a little worse than its average.
- People
- Everyone travelling, including the driver.
A worked example
A 250 mile drive each way in a 30 mpg car at $3.40 a gallon, with $12 of tolls and $20 of parking, shared four ways.
That works out to $88.67 .
- Fuel
- $56.67
- Tolls and parking
- $32.00
- Each, split 4 ways
- $22.17
- Fuel used
- 16.67 gallons
Questions
How do I work out the cost of a road trip?
Divide the total distance by the mpg and multiply by the fuel price, then add tolls and parking. A 500 mile round trip at 30 mpg and $3.40 a gallon is $56.67 of fuel, or $88.67 with $32 of tolls and parking.
How should we split the cost of a lift?
Dividing the whole cost by everyone in the car, driver included, is the usual convention. On these figures that is $22.17 each between four people.
Should passengers pay for wear as well as fuel?
For a long journey it is a reasonable thing to raise. Tyres, servicing and depreciation typically cost two to three times the fuel, which is what an approved mileage rate is built to cover. For a short lift it is usually not worth the conversation.
Is driving cheaper than the train?
Compare the figure here against the ticket, and remember that the car cost is the same whether one person travels or four while train tickets are per head. That is usually what decides it.
Does a loaded car use more fuel?
Yes, though less than people expect from the weight and more than they expect from the shape. Passengers and luggage cost a few per cent; a roof box costs ten to twenty-five per cent at motorway speed because it spoils the airflow.
Should I use the brochure mpg figure?
Better to measure your own from a couple of fill-ups. Official figures come from a standardised test and real-world economy is usually a few per cent worse, more so on a fully loaded car.
What about the cost of my time?
Worth thinking about on a long drive, though this tool does not price it. The journey time calculator will tell you how long the drive actually takes once stops are counted, which is often the more surprising number.
Do tolls vary by vehicle?
Often, yes — by axles, weight or emissions class, and sometimes by time of day. Check the route rather than assuming a car rate, particularly with a trailer or a van.