Money from car passengers?

New_Me

A few years back I worked with two guys who car shared, an arrangement which came about when their local office closed and they were moved to one 25 miles away. For about a year they were quite happy with the passenger paying half the fuel cost. The driver then changed to a more expensive car, and decided it would be better to charge half of the full running cost. the passenger didn't think that was fair as he would be paying for 1/2 a car which the owner had the use of the rest of the week. The driver considered his passenger was getting a good deal as it saved him buying a car to commute, and he had door to door lifts to work.

In the end they each commuted in their individual cars, even though it cost them double as they both felt the other was taking advantage.

d0nkeyk0ng

I'd keep it simple, otherwise things can deteriorate.

If I were in that situation and giving a lift, as long as they were real friends (as opposed to colleagues) I wouldn't charge. If they were people I knew, they could pay for my lunch once a week.

Otherwise it gets very messy eg what happens if daughter is off sick for a week?

Grumpyoldmoo

I get a lift home from work most days & I give my colleague £10 a week. The route is on his way home, he never asked for this money it's just my way of saying thank you

Mercdriver

Out of fairness, when I was much younger (so much younger than today to quote The Beatles) I used to wok in the same place in Bristol as an old school friend that I was still friends with 6 years after he left school. He never asked for money, but I still gave him £10 a week, as otherwise I would be gaining from it unfairly as I then didn't have any costs that I would otherwise have had. He lived a mile up the road from me so I met him half way so he didn't have to go out of his way, and I saved having to change buses twice and leaving much earlier in the morning.

When it is a friend, I wouldn't set down hard and fast rules. I would see if the friend offered a token amount towards the fuel. The main thing is that neither party should feel taken advantage of and then the friendship will thrive. Make demands that makes one party feel aggrieved and it will wither...

Aretnap

DigForVictory wrote: »

^^ This, please.
If your daughter is not covered by insurance for Any reason, the sums received will be not be enough to repair matters.

Provided the amount of money collected only covers the car's running costs (including a reasonable amount for depreciation and general wear and tear) then there is no problem whatsoever with insurance. The Road Traffic Act specifically says that any clause in an insurance policy which attempted to exclude this type of car sharing arrangement would be null and void (link).

Richard53

Mercdriver wrote: »

If she gets that technically into it, I don't think they will stay friends for long. Bearing in mind that the OP's daughter has to make the journey in any case I don't think it's reasonable to demand half the actual cost broken down like you suggest.

how much does the OP's daughter value the friendship?

Fair point. It depends on how formal the arrangement is, I think. For the occasional lift, I personally wouldn't bother charging. But the OP did mention a 'reasonable amount' and a 'rate per mile', so I assumed it was going to be more formal than that.


In a previous job, I was in charge of running a lift-sharing scheme, and in the early days it was informal, but quickly descended into argument. People who don't run a vehicle often think that it is just a matter of popping a few pounds' worth of petrol in every so often, and the people supplying the lifts often felt they were being taken advantage of. In the end, we drew up an agreement everyone had to sign, which specifically mentioned 'other' running costs with a breakdown of a typical mileage rate. Things ran a lot easier after that. I just thought that might help the OP.


I think if the arrangement is clear and fair, the people are less likely to fall out over it, not more.

iainscomputer

New_Me wrote: »

A few years back I worked with two guys who car shared, an arrangement which came about when their local office closed and they were moved to one 25 miles away. For about a year they were quite happy with the passenger paying half the fuel cost. The driver then changed to a more expensive car, and decided it would be better to charge half of the full running cost. the passenger didn't think that was fair as he would be paying for 1/2 a car which the owner had the use of the rest of the week. The driver considered his passenger was getting a good deal as it saved him buying a car to commute, and he had door to door lifts to work.

In the end they each commuted in their individual cars, even though it cost them double as they both felt the other was taking advantage.

Why didn't one person drive for one week & then the other drive for the next week.

Mercdriver

Richard53 wrote: »

Fair point. It depends on how formal the arrangement is, I think. For the occasional lift, I personally wouldn't bother charging. But the OP did mention a 'reasonable amount' and a 'rate per mile', so I assumed it was going to be more formal than that.


In a previous job, I was in charge of running a lift-sharing scheme, and in the early days it was informal, but quickly descended into argument. People who don't run a vehicle often think that it is just a matter of popping a few pounds' worth of petrol in every so often, and the people supplying the lifts often felt they were being taken advantage of. In the end, we drew up an agreement everyone had to sign, which specifically mentioned 'other' running costs with a breakdown of a typical mileage rate. Things ran a lot easier after that. I just thought that might help the OP.


I think if the arrangement is clear and fair, the people are less likely to fall out over it, not more.

To be fair, an actual organised lift share scheme is very different to giving a friend a lift. If it was 3/4 colleagues in a car then it would be a very different kettle of fish entirely.

New_Me

iainscomputer wrote: »

Why didn't one person drive for one week & then the other drive for the next week.

The guy getting a lift had to buy a 2nd car to commute as his wife used theirs daily

Syman

i used to give a colleague a lift daily, only because, short of a quick stop to pick up and drop off, he was on route.

I didn't charge.

We also had the understanding, if either i or he was not at the pick up by a certain time, then there will be no lift.

This way neither of us were under any pressure for letting the other down, and possibly making them late.