Would you charge a friend for travel to work daily?

clw1

Yes I would split the costs with her but I'd only charge for petrol and not for insurance & tax. My 1.4 corsa costs about 15p per mile for just the petrol x 25 miles round trip = £3.75 per day so to make it easy I'd charge her £2 per day or £10 per week.

You will need to discuss with her what happens if you or her are on holiday or aren't coming straight home & what happens if one of you is working late (and how much notice you'll give each other) that way you both know what to expect.

Also I'd agree how / when she will give you the money ie daily / weekly / monthly and will it be cash or a direct debit ?

tiamai_d

I've never been in the situation but DH used to work in a big factory. The fare was usually a can of juice and a mars bar! DH cashed in, he was saving for a car and his mum provided him with the cans of juice and mars bars. She always wondered why he suddenly didn't want 2 cans and 2 mars bars after he got his car, he told her he went out to the shop at his second break....

faerie_girl

My DH gets a lift from a collegue on his team that lives 2 minutes away from us. He pays £15 pw for 4 days of travel. It takes them about 30 minutes to get to work.

ema_o

Definitely take money for the petrol, otherwise you will probably come to resent the arrangement and I expect your friend will feel uncomfortable. In her shoes I would not take no for an answer.

If train fare is 15 per day I think weekly / monthly tickets are about 3x that per week so around 45 a week. 10 a week for the convenience of being picked up is a tiny amount in comparison.

I would suggest agreeing this as a trial for a month to ensure there are no problems, after a month agree that either of you can call it off or discuss alternative ways of doing it. My first thought was about the distance to pick her up, what if this takes 20 mins at the time you get her? Could she walk part way, or cycle to yours? For me adding 10 mins to my journey each way would really be a dealbreaker, I wouldn't mind doing it occasionally as a favour but wouldn't want to be tied in to that.

boliston

ellissa wrote: »

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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'd simply use the HMRC "recommended" guideline of 40p per mile and split this two ways so the friend would pay 20p per mile.

This works out at £5 per day that you should charge your friend.

Mankysteve

I would in this case as your going outside of your normal work route to pick her up.

If I was going to work and didn't have to detour then I wouldn't bother asking for a contribution.

Good on you for car shareing though more people need to do this would help the environment and make less traffic on road its a winner.

babyshoes

It seems almost everyone on here has agreed that she should definitely pay, the only question is how much to charge her, and how to work that out. If you want to be strictly fair, then half the petrol is good. If you know she is a bit broke, then use other ways of working it out, or just ask for a token amount way under what you think it costs, like £5 a week or something. You could check how much a monthly bus/rail ticket would cost her and charge half of that, or simply ask for an amount that *feels* reasonable and affordable for her, like £10-20 a week.

Only you know your situation and hers, and can use that information to work out what you want to charge, and how you will deal with days when you can't give her a lift.

ailuro2

not true if you want to be strictly fair charge her half the petrol

I'd work out how much I spent on motoring in a year, divide it by the mileage and add that on to her part of the trip - you have to go out your way to do it, so she actually pays for more than half.

I'd suggest putting this little windfall away in a separate bank account and use it to pay for servicing the car etc. That way you won't get used to the money and you won't feel it hit your pocket if she moves to a different job.

I'd make it clear from the start that this is what you're doing, and even show her the working out if she thinks it's higher than she thought it would be...

I'd say as she's your friend you need to find a rate that you're both happy with otherwise resentment will build.;)

loracan1

If I were your friend, I'd feel uncomfortable not paying anything towards my travel - she's offered to pay half the petrol cost because she's getting a great deal. Transport to and from work, more comfort, I guarantee it'll be cheaper than public transport and far more convenient than making her own way.

moneypuddle

If you want to do it, yes definitely charge her for it

However, I'd take the warnings that it can hugely inconvenience you. My colleague and I both drive from one town to another 30 mins away each day so decided to share lifts. One week she would drive us both and the next I would, so no cash ever changed hands. But it was an absolute nightmare. She would sleep in, have zero sense of urgency in terms of getting herself out the house in the morning, I would spend 10-15 mins sat waiting outside her house on a morning, and then when she drove she would collect me (late) then go and fill up with petrol and we were arriving at work later and later.

Gladly I moved and managed to change the situation, but I would never do it again so be prepared for what you might be letting yourself in for!