Would you charge a friend for travel to work daily?

Bargain_Bunny

I took a friend to work years ago and she offered to pay me so i thought that was fair, might have been 7 pound a week?? worked the same hours etc. I picked her up as it was on the way and dropped her off every day.

I ran into problems though when she wanted me to wait for her after work, her b/f worked in the same place (didnt drive) so she wanted to see him etc etc so i think i stopped in the end :S

BB

onlyroz

Yes, accept the money. It's not quite as simple as "I was going to do the same journey anyway". By agreeing to give your friend a lift you are inconveniencing yourself in other small ways - e.g. you're committed to following a set schedule for when you leave for work and when you want to come home. Things like early/late starts, or after-work drinks etc will become more difficult if you're giving someone a lift.

So come up with a fair amount for your friend to pay, and make sure you have some sort of arrangement to deal with sickness, holidays, unforseen delays (e.g. one of you is held back at work for a few hours - does the other one wait, or find another way home?)

rach

I think it's only fair to split the petrol costs, seems your friend does too. I think £10 a week or £50 a month would be fair

meerkat2007

There's absolutely nothing wrong with splitting petrol costs with a friend; I've done it, and I'm sure many others have as well.

FelinePrincess

IMHO, there are 2 reasons why you should take the money here..

1st, it is out of your way and adding 10 mins to your journey, and you are using more fuel.

2nd, while you may feel bad initially taking money off your friend, she will feel awkward if she isn't giving you money. So while it may seem nice to not take the money she would almost definetley rather you did as she will feel uncomfortable if you don't..

If you take the money you both gain from the situation and everyone is happy

Mojisola

Looking at the from the other side - if I was your friend and you refused to take any money, I would feel very uncomfortable about getting a lift from you. You would be doing the journey anyway but I would otherwise be paying bus and train fares. Why should your costs stay the same while I saved so much money?

BitterAndTwisted

I don't see a dilemma here at all. If I were the friend getting a lift I'd be willing to pay what the public transport costs would be and more. I'd be getting picked up and delivered back to my front door so I wouldn't have to face standing at a freezing-cold bus stop or train platform in the middle of winter with over a half an hour walking on top. That would be worth good money to me

notsayingaword

Yes, definitely charge her. You are both benefitting from the situation and your friend even more so as her travel time and inconvenience is greatly reduced by not having to get a bus, train, walk and it's no fun doing this in the cold, rain, snow etc. Why should she save £15 per day and get to travel for free whilst you have to pay out for extra fuel to cover going out of your way. It makes no difference that you do the journey anyway and if she didn't pay then she would be taking advantage of you, even if you declined any payment from her. This might sound harsh but just wanted to put it as I see it.

londoner1998

ellissa wrote: »

Just wanting to guage opinion really...


My friend does not drive and has recently started working at the same place as me. She asked if I could take her to work everyday then take her back home each evening. I am happy to help. She only lives about 1/2 a mile from me (in the opposite direction to work) so I'm only going about 2 miles out of my way each day - 10 mins or so.

My dilemma is about whether to take money from her for petrol. She has asked that I tell her how much the petrol cost is and she will pay half. I hadn't even thought of taking money from her when I agreed to take her. I should add that that's exactly what I'd offer to do if the situation was reversed - pay for her petrol. However, is it right that I take money from my friend? I spoke to my parents about it and they say it would be out of order for me to take the money as I would have made the journey myself whether or not she was there. They say if she is adamant she wants to pay that I should just consider a token amount of £10 per month.

It's a 25 mile round trip each day obviously totalling 150 miles each week. I have no idea how much this will cost in petrol for a 1.3 car. I've looked into it and if I was not taking her then she would have to walk 5 mins to bus stop, take a bus, walk 15 mins to station, take a train then another 15 min walk totalling approx £15 per day and an extra hour travelling time (we work in a rural village). However I'm sure she would be able to save money buying weekly/monthly tickets.

The bottom line for me is that although I do the journey already, the money would help our situation. I certainly don't want to make money out of her though, if I do charge her then it will be no more than half the petrol costs. However, I don't want to be out of order, she is my friend and I am happy to help her.

So my questions are:-

a) in the same situation, would you take money from your friend? is it right to?
b) how much would you take from her? how can I calculate the petrol used?

TIA
Ellissa

Hello

my friend does this with a work colleague and yes, they used to split the petrol money. His friend then got himself a car and they split the weeks, so they both spend the same money and half the cost...

I think even if it is a token payment, paying for things shows respect and helps people value what they are given, even if it is at a reduced rate.

A.

gratefulforhelp_2

From another perspective, if you don't take the money you won't feel so bad if you have to end the arrangement.

I did this with a friend (didn't take money) and eventually had to end the arrangement, as he was sooo constantly late he was cutting into my time with my children and making me late in picking them up.

I would have felt worse if I'd taken money from him.