Giving lifts to work dilemma

silverwhistle

londonTiger wrote: »

i wouldnt take money for a tiny lift, but here in London 2 miles can cost 15+ minutes. I would not lose 15 minutes extra sleep to give someone a lift. You're commuting such short distances why doesn't he get a pushbike?

Good point, but I'd also add: why don't you get a push-bike. Solve the problem AND save money!:D

Another alternative, seeing as it's probably being taken for granted that gets your goat, is to organise different situations: "Can't help you this week as coming directly from X as I'm visiting Y the evening before"..

enfield_freddy

ok , find out how much public transport is on that route , I would expect the minimum to be £1.50 + , ask him for the same rate as the bus fair he is saving .

DaveTheMus

londonTiger wrote: »

yeah just put a stop to it if it's bothering you. I got into a weird arrangement like this a while ago.

A woman come knocking on my door appearing desperate saying she's diabetic and extremely thirsty and needs water. I said "OK, i can call you an ambulance". She said no - just a glass of water would be fine.

She comes in, and then says she's got low blood sugar, can she put some sugar in the water.

I said ok, and then she said sugary water is no good for her, can she have a cup of tea.

At this point I'm suspecting that she's taking me for a ride - I'm being polite in case she is genuine. Meanwhile I'm thinking is this a scam? Is she going to open the door for someone whose going to come burgle my house or rob me?

Then she spots a crossaint at the kitchen counter and says "can I have that bread as it will help get her insulin thingy to work faster"... "or I can have some of your leftover dinner"..

I was humming and haaing thinking what the eff is going on. I'm slightly trying to resist now and telling her if she has a problem with her diabetes she needs to go hospital.

But she's an old hag and experienced with this as reassures me she's not a scammer or anything and she'll be on her away after she's had dinner.

I was sure her next step would have been to ask for a room to stay for the night. :rotfl:

That is crazy.....

It's like something out of Curb Your Enthusiasm

[Deleted User]

It's something I want to get out of really but was thinking of asking for £2 per lift.

I feel sorry for the other colleague that gives him a lift 3 times a week. Also in the same boat driving 2 miles out of his way to pick him up.

Richard53

I absolutely hate people who freeload like this. As a one-off, I would give anyone a lift for free (even going out of my way), but as a regular thing, you have to put it on a proper footing. People like your colleague just rely on other people being too polite to raise the money issue.

FWIW, I reckon my overall running cost of the car works out very roughly at 15p/mile or so for fuel, and another 15p/mile for overheads (including tax, insurance, wear and tear, maintenance, etc etc). I would be asking the guy for 30p for each mile out of my way, and half that for the onward shared journey. So if your commute is 10 miles, I would be asking for (30p x 4) + (15p x 10) = £2.70. If he doesn't like that, explain that this is how much it costs to keep a car on the road, and if he thinks it's too much he can buy his own and find out for himself.

Or you could offer to keep giving him a lift at £1 a time, but when you need new tyres at £400 a set, you will be expecting him to contribute half. I doubt he will be keen on that.

getmore4less

2 miles out your way on a short trip

I would put a stop to it is close to double the distance/time.

If it was the odd occasion or a pool taking it in turns then that's a bit different.

The issue is how to stop it, I think I would just come out with I don't want to do it anymore and leave it at that, no fancy story made up excuses etc.

bigjl

Not sure how to price this up.

As i wouldn't charge a mate to pick him up.

DUTR

bigjl wrote: »

Not sure how to price this up.

As i wouldn't charge a mate to pick him up.

You wouldn't charge a mate, I suspect you wouldn't sponge off them either, what does the colleague do when one of his 'drivers' is on leave?

arcon5

£2-£2.50 would seem fair. Or bare min £5/week for the 3 day a week guy.

Or tell him to walk to your house in the mornin for a free lift

cootuk

A lot depends if they are your mate or just a work colleague.