Splitting commute costs

rsvtoddy

When I have worked out all costs e.g. tyres, servicing, depreciation etc. you will double the cost of the fuel so you will be at about £130/£140. If you halve the HMRC calculations you are in the same ball park.... The HMRC rate is carefully calculated to ensure that it is a true cost for running a car.
The fairest way would be to alternate cars each week, it's his decision to have a non-fuel efficient car. 

neilmcl

angrycrow said:

Emmia said:

You need to be careful, if your colleague gives you money for the trips, then you could invalidate your insurance as your insurer might class you as a taxi...  I'd check very carefully before doing this.

Nope, every motor policy I have seen includes a section in the policy wording that it is perfectly acceptable to receive a contribution from co workers when car sharing for the commute providing it does not exceed the actual cost. So as long as op is not profiting all good. 

Worth noting though that op will need to ensure that they have business use on their policy with sufficient mileage allowance for these journeys. 

My understanding is that this location is now their new sole place of work, so standard social and commuting will be fine.

neilmcl

Weeg73 said:

Thanks for the feedback, unfortunately this isn't a short term solution, my industry has been decimated as a consequence of COVID and there are no jobs available in my field and recovery is predicted to be 3-5 years. So, I think I'll be enduring this for a few years.
We get a £5k relocation allowance which will cover rent and fuel for about 9 months, but after that we're on our own with no expenses or allowances.
I can't reasonably use the £0.45 per mile HMRC allowance for the trip as that would amount to £340 per week when fuel costs are only £65. I'll suggest splitting running costs, services, tyres etc as the car will be used almost exclusively for this purpose as I can't face driving an extra mile at the weekend knowing I've got a 300 mile drive every Monday morning & Friday afternoon.

I don't think you'll be wanting to do this commute for the next 3-5 years as a permanent employee, you might want to start looking for something more permanent at the location or look for another job.

Scrapit

How many hours does the OP work Monday and Friday? If they average 60 mph (good luck with that) that journey is taking 5 hours without stops. If they do a 8 hour daytime thats 12 hours out of their day before anything else. Just not sustainable. Is other transport options available, plane or train?

sheramber

Scrapit said:

How many hours does the OP work Monday and Friday? If they average 60 mph (good luck with that) that journey is taking 5 hours without stops. If they do a 8 hour daytime thats 12 hours out of their day before anything else. Just not sustainable. Is other transport options available, plane or train?

th OP will be living in dogs Monday to  Friday and commuting  30 miles to work.

Scrapit

sheramber said:

Scrapit said:

How many hours does the OP work Monday and Friday? If they average 60 mph (good luck with that) that journey is taking 5 hours without stops. If they do a 8 hour daytime thats 12 hours out of their day before anything else. Just not sustainable. Is other transport options available, plane or train?

th OP will be living in dogs Monday to  Friday and commuting  30 miles to work.

Well done, however they will also be travelling Monday and Friday and not commuting 30 mile but ten times that. As well as working I presume, hence my question.

born_again

Weeg73 said:

Hi,
I hope some of you may be able to offer some advice on my commuting situation.
I have just been redeployed by my company to avoid redundancy with one of my colleagues and we now have a 300 mile commute to work, plus a 30 mile daily drive when down there from digs to work and back. As my car has significantly better fuel economy my mate wants to use my car every week, which will add 35,000 miles to my car annually. So far fuel has been split 50/50, but I don't think this is fair as I'll have additional running costs plus a car with extremely high mileage.
Does anyone have any ideas how to split the costs more fairly?

Thanks

Tell him NO.
He can share the costs of the 300 trip and 30 mile commute by using his car every other week. 

That is the only fair solution.
Or better still just find somewhere to live down there now, and scrap that waste of time.

k12479

I've done similar for a while, but alone. About 3.5 hours on Monday morning and 4-6 hours on Friday evening.

I would insist on alternating cars, if not I'd just drive separately. Aside from the mileage already discussed, don't underestimate the time spent driving. It might seem ok at the beginning but it really adds up, meanwhile the passenger at least has the freedom to do something more productive - reading, answering emails or, the greatest luxury at 4am on Monday morning, sleeping. Add in the fact that you'll also lose some of your freedom at the other end waiting around or having to accommodate your colleague when he needs to start a bit early, finish a bit late or wants to swing by the supermarket.

elsien

I’d agree with the alternating cars as well.
But is it not possible to get digs closer to the workplace and avoid your 30 mile commute? 

Barny1979

Scrapit said:

Sounds terrible. Full stop. Look for another job.

Yeah, as it's that easy currently.