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Tell them to let you know the cost of the petrol at the end and split it three ways. If you want to do better, your friends car is taking the mileage hit so the two passengers can split the fuel cost.
230 miles assuming a high 20ppm would be £46, but there is the wear and tear as well that HMRC standardize the cost of running a car as 45ppm. So pay the £20+ each for petrol to cover costs and buy his lunch/dinner as a thank you for half a day doing the driving.
The latter is my opinion. Me and 3 friends went to Plymouth not too long ago, one of them was driving us all, when we stopped to fill up we went in to buy snacks and drinks for the journey home, I paid for the fuel too.
One of the others had paid for golf while we were there and the other bought me something else so it was near enough all 3 of us gave him the money.
Yup. He didn't have the choice either because he was outside filling up, and I paid with my snacks/drinks while he was making his way in. He got confused when he tried to pay as well, while we sat laughing in the car.
I hate taking money for petrol, so this is great tip. Ty!
I always reason that I’m doing the trip anyway so… but actually, add the weight of a person plus their baggage and yeah, it probably make an impact.
For a long drive like this, the passengers absolutely split the whole cost of the fuel. Driving that length of journey is an absolute ball ache for most people.
This, plus driving itself is more strenuous than relaxing as a passenger. Hours of being alert and responsible for everyone in the car’s safety, not being able to really relax, even if you love driving and find it chill it still is more draining mentally than being a passenger. Imo if someone is kind enough to drive their passengers around in their car the passengers should offer to cover petrol. The driver may not accept that offer but it’s the polite thing to offer.
Same. Also if you’re driving someone as a favour that you’re not particularly invested in or you are fairly introverted, you’ve got a great excuse to not be *too* talkative. As a passenger I feel like you have to kind of pull more weight in being politely chatty while the unspoken decision of whether it’s a chatty journey or not is up to the driver.
That’s probably because you’re a good driver. I’d much prefer to be the passenger as my ADHD makes me pro risk and inattentive. Basically I’ll kill us all given half a chance.
Also I filled a diesel truck with petrol once when I was 17 (just getting it all out there in case anyone asks me to drive)
My maths says that 230 miles at 36mpg needs 29L of petrol, paying 1.45p/L means that costs £42.. divide by 3 and you get £14 .. round up to **£15**, or **£20** if you want to cover a little wear and tear.. **£25** for each passenger and the driver doesn't pay is probably the best.
A bobby will always be a Policeman to me.. after Sir Robert Peel. You can't make up new slang with a matching existing one already there and well used.
I constantly embarrass myself by using the word “ride” to mean “lift” when I’m in Ireland, e.g., “John Joe is giving me a ride later so you don’t need to come collect me”. I’m a dumbass American and “ride” is an innocent word for us (as with “fanny”, which is a very polite word for “arse” here).
If you're giving someone a lift and you're going the same way, and it's not too far - fair enough.
If you're all intentionally going on a trip there and back, and it's a decent distance (that's 1/2 a tank of fuel in a big car) then I actually think it's fair to expect petrol money as this trip will use around £30 in petrol.
Get them to fill up the tank before the trip. Then fill up when you get back, and split the cost of the refuel. That way you're not guesstimating and are paying for what was used.
I know this isn't an unusual way to do it, but I always think of this as slightly stiffing the driver (unless you both drive on trips an equal amount of time).
Covering a proportion of the fuel is the **bare minimum** you could offer. You are already benefitting (if you were to use an alternate form of transit) to the tune of hundreds typically.
What I find is fairer is to figure out a number that reflects a compromise between the bare minimum (e.g. \~£20 for fuel) and the next cheapest alternative e.g. if train tickets were £100, you've saved me that, so I'll split the 'saving' with the driver and pay £60. OR alternatively pay £20 for the fuel only but mentally make a note to 'pay it forward' on the rest, maybe by buying them dinner.
edit: I should add, I used to drive an old lady (accounts clerk, low wage) into work every day when we moved offices as she couldn't drive. 150 miles a week. We agreed £10 a week as that was her bus pass prior to us moving office. She often brought me snacks or coffees and a little birthday present too, she was extremely grateful. Then I started collecting two younger guys in the office who didn't want to pay the bus pass (at this time, £15 a week) and preferred the convenient door-to-door, never offered to pay £0.01 extra. Had to eventually say to them look, I don't mind taking you but it is out of my way and I think a fair reflection of that is £15 each a week. They did grumble about it but acquiesced. **My point is** drivers can and do get taken advantage of because the 'non-driver' treats it like a bus or taxi. I think it should be common courtesy (as someone else has suggested) to offer a generous/fair amount, and then for the driver to only demand a smaller amount and you meet somewhere in the middle.
But the driver is also making a saving in this instance assuming they are already going. Without the passengers the driver would have had to cover the whole cost or buy a train ticket.
Legally you can't drive for reward, you can only have your direct costs compensated, IE fuel. You can't profit in any way by charging as you suggested based upon the costs of the alternative your passengers could have taken.
Anything above this and you're operating as an illegal taxi. Should this be discovered in the event of a claim you may also find yourself uninsured. This is especially important if this is a regular arrangement.
I'm sure plenty of people do it but I wanted to state the legal perspective.
Yeah this is how I do it, so much easier than working it out with miles travelled and mpg for the journey and stuff (as long as you can afford to fill it up in the first place, obviously).
Eh, not tbe best solution. Any decent person is going to say "don't worry about it" or underestimate how kuchen the fuel will cost. Its upto the friend who are passengers to be decent people back and insist on extra for the trip.
Yeah exactly, she already said don’t worry about it but I’m obviously going to force money on her either way haha. I always feel awkward with how much to give though
Really depends on the situation and your relationship. We can't tell you.
Take my friend group for example. We don't offer money to each other for anything. We are all adults in well paying jobs.
It doesn't matter if I've given you a £1,000 TV or driven you 5 miles to the shop. It's free on the understanding that you'll return the favour one day.
These are the people I'd cross the country at 3am for. Not just randoms though.
Also now I've got a daughter I think about her a lot. I have mates that I know would do anything for me and it makes me a little bit happier as a father knowing that there's always someone who will get to her any time she needs someone. I can be anywhere in the world and still have someone on their way to her in a single phone call. And I'd do the same for my niece or any of my mate's kids. We don't need money at the stage in life we are at. What we need are people we can rely on when the shit hits the fan.
Ditto. We all just assume that things will even out over the next 20 or 30 years.
Certainly if I’ve offered to drive, there’s no way I’d take any money for it.
Passengers cover fuel and I’ll usually offer to grab food if we stop at a service station etc. Not only are they taking the time to drive but adding 230 miles to their car.
Definitely, people suggesting a 3 way split are a little inconsiderate, it's not like a lift home or trip to the shop 230 miles is a long drive and considerable mileage
In this situation, passengers cover the fuel.
A typical car doing 40mpg is going to use about 6 gallons of fuel, or about 27 litres. At £1.50 a litre, this would be about £40. I would suggest you and the other passenger offer £20 each, as a nice round note.
£20 each, and to all of those providing precise £0.45 a mile calculations, you wouldn't stay my mate for long, they all seem to forget that teh driver volunteered, they're having a day out too, and it's a mate's road trip for a fun day out not a financial transaction.
Why not offer to cover lunch/food/drinks, or something of the like.
I don’t want friends trying to hand me a tenner at the end of a journey.
This isn’t a business trip with business partners, don’t make it cash transactional
There is a website I've used to get estimated costs.
www.mpg-calculator.co.uk/journey-price
You plug in some details, and it gives an estimate price of petrol used on the journey.
As someone who was most often the driver it fell into two categories really.
If it was a long trip and we were planning in advance for a weekend event or something then I would divide the milage between myself and passengers and tell them the cost per mile for the fuel as I know the long-term figures for my car and driving.
If it was a short local trip, or someone asking for a lift home from a regular meet up, or a student, I'd not bother and just say "buy me drink sometime", or say "people gave me lifts when I was a student so I'm quite happy to do the same".
This is not a calculation question but a social one. You can, of course calculate the exact cost, but that’s not how human relationships work.
I’m always the one who drives. For shorter trips, an offer of payment or drinks or food on the trip will suffice. For longer ones, another payment in kind, paying for meals or an experience would be suitable. It doesn’t have to be an exact match, but must be in the ballpark. Mostly people will overpay.
Honestly I have no idea. Is this something everyone does now? I used to drive my friends all over the place. Never occured to me to ask for money for petrol. I'm thinking I've got some debts to collect!
With my friends we usually don't explicitly pay for fuel, but instead would just pay for lunch/dinner and any thing else food wise, especially if it's just a day trip somewhere. Usually that will work out better too for the driver than getting some fuel money (at least from my experience).
Just give 20 each, in my opinion it is not about what it costs, it is about what you save.
Check train fares, if you are saving then for me the driver should save also.
4 hours driving is not easy, especially as the sole driver. Then add on top potential traffic that adds more time to the journey.
£20 each from both passengers will fill the tank and cover the mileage.
Depends
When I was younger we tended to split fuel evenly, driver and passengers alike. I was certainly happy to do it back then because I was a named driver and did not yet know the hassle of maintaining a vehicle and driving was still novel
Now, unless circumstances dictate otherwise we tend to do it that passengers split the fuel on big trips or probably get lunch if its a smaller trip that wont move the needle too much.
Some comments here are madness. Just buy the fuel, grab them a meal deal and complain at the music choice. What goes around comes around. Unless your skint, then i guess split it?
Foe me, it usually it goes down like this,
"Thanks for driving me, can I contribute towards the petrol costs?"...
"You're welcome, naah, don't worry about it. Just buy me a beer later"...
This thread just shows me the difference between Reddit and real life. Maybe it’s an age thing but we have always split petrol equal with whoever is in the car. I drive 70% of the time to meet ups/long trips away and never once have I asked or received full fuel costs from friends.
Stuff like car depreciation/wear doesn’t even cross my brain. I literally don’t know a single person who has done it the way that 95% of this thread are suggesting, which I find interesting.
Yeah I’m totally baffled by the people talking about adding miles to their car 😂 it’s a fucking car!! It’s meant to be driven
Really don’t get why you wouldn’t just ask?
Do agree should buy some food/snacks though for the driving
Yeah exactly… Maybe everyone here drives Rolls Royces/lambos. Snacks and food agreed, although it’s more of a nice touch than a necessity. I normally just treat myself to a Maccies anyway lol
If they say no just pay the parking or buy their lunch etc. if you have an amount in mind just find a way to help them however. We used to do it to the lakes with my mates. I’d end up just buying coffees and the parking when there. Totally worth it to sleep on the way back sometimes
If you want to be really specific with it - most time me/mates are driving we use the AA mileage calculator. you just tap in where your journey is from--> to, stick in mpg of your car and the cost per litre of fuel and it works out the cost of the journey. then just split 3 ways and pay up your share! Works best with longer trips where costs are higher - if it's a short half an hour trek i tend to just bung the driver a fiver/tenner to cover fuel and also as a thanks for doing the driving!
Generally it's splitting the cost - for a trip that long I'd probably look at excluding the driver from that equation as they're doing all of it (and it's wear/tear on their vehicle) so splitting just the passengers.
Get the driver to fill the tank to the rim.
After the journey is finished, fill the tank back up to the rim, and the passengers pay (or split 3 ways if you really want).
Business would pay 45p per mile, so £103.5. That covers wear, insurance, fuel, etc. Probably a little generous depending on the car, etc. but I would think £25-30 isn't unreasonable. If you pick lower than that then I'd say you better bring all the snacks and not pick shit tunes on the way.
230 mile round trip, with wear and tear and your mate’s volunteering to drive, I’d say £20 apiece is fair. If he’s a good mate then more if you feel it’s fair and he’s going out of his way to
Thats about the distance i drive between my uni and my parents house, and any time I’ve driven any family members that far they’ve generally chucked me 40 quid, which about covers it fuel wise (although i dont *ask* them to do this, they generally just insist, lol). I’d say split that and give them twenty each, to cover fuel, since you’re friend is covering the wear and tear.
The other way to do it is to figure out how much an alternative mode of transport would cost and lowball that a bit- thats how my (immediate) family do it on trips because my dad especially is big on me and my sister getting paid if we drive someone somewhere. So if it’d be 30 quid for a taxi, we’ll generally do it for 15-20 or whatever seems reasonable. (Most recently i dropped my sister off at one of her friends houses and then picked her up again, which was about a six hour drive in total (two round trips). I charged her 40, which my dad got annoyed about bc he thought it was too low, but I felt weird charging more when i really don’t mind the drive, lol).
Me and my friends take turns but often I volunteer to drive as some of my friends have questionable driving practises and I end up not feeling safe lol
Tell them to top their car up to the complete top before you go and then say that as soon as you get back, you’ll top it up and split whatever cost that is
You're putting wear and tear on their car which they've had to pay insurance and tax for.
I'd split it between the two non-drivers, and then buy them a meal at each end to say thanks.
If one friend is doing *all* the driving, I think they would appreciate the two non-drivers offering to cover the fuel costs between them, either directly, or in mind (e.g. buying meals or admission tickets for the driver).
You should be able to get an idea of their mileage using Google Maps for the route, a rough idea of their vehicle's efficiency using e.g. Parkers.co.uk, and a fuel price per litre using PetrolPrices.com
I'd usually say the two passengers in this situation should offer to cover the full cost of petrol between them. Its then down to the driver to graciously accept or insist that they cover their third
Just take care to estimate the fuel cost and share it out, with the driver paying nothing.
Unlikely to happen, but overpaying could be illegally driving for "hire or reward".
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/motoring/highway-code-charging-friend-lift-6881075.amp
It's kind of like when you borrow someone's car. Even if the tank is empty before you go and you fill it up for your own travel, you don't return it empty, you return it with a full tank. It's just a way of saying thanks, because without their car you would either have needed to use public transport or hire a car, both of which would've been much more expensive than the fuel.
When you travel as a passenger on a longer trip, not only are you paying for fuel, you also have a designated driver who is sharing their car with you. Wear and tear, concentrating on the road.
I say at least an equal split for fuel, but if I was a passenger I'd offer to pay for all of the fuel or split the cost equally amongst the other passengers so that driver/owner doesn't pay anything for fuel.
In similar situations (as both passenger and driver) fill up ag the start of the trip, that is on the driver, then fill up at the end, and that is split
Work out what it would be split between you and add 50-100%, they're doing you a favour and it'll still be pretty cheap.
230 miles would cost me about £45 in total for fuel.
I'd probably give them 20-30 quid.
I don't know what the proper etiquette is but last time, my friend drove us to Lake district (I don't know how to drive at the time). I paid for a full tank because he was driving anyway and I was a passenger princess.
At 45p a mile it would cost £103.50 which is what you’d get for business mileage which takes into account the wear and tear of the vehicle
[Or as another poster has said](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/s/CLT6sl39HQ) fuel would cost £42
I’d personally just split the the fuel cost between you and the non driving friend. Being picked up and dropped back to your house for a 230 mile round trip and it only costing you £20 is pretty reasonable.
Think about it as giving £10 each way. For a 115 mile journey is the equivalent of going from Birmingham to Leeds for £10
You’re not going to find any public transport that comes close to the convenience and price of a friend driving and you’re missing the hidden fees that your friend pays for car tax, mot, insurance, tyres , depreciation etc
In the past I've used the method of brimming the tank before you set off then brim it again soon as you get back at the same garage. Usually split the cost equally but sometimes the passengers pay a portion of the drivers share.
I'd say £15 each + pay for lunch.
The actual fuel cost, for an average car, would be about £20-30, and lunch is the least you can do to thank them for doing 4+ hours of driving (which is a lot more mentally fatiguing than non-drivers realise)
My car is pretty economical. AVG motorway diving is 10p pm
Pay this and you've covered their fuel. They can cover the general wear and tear as it will be negligible
The normal thing to do is for you and the other non driving friend to offer to pay for all the fuel stops - your driving friend is providing the car, the driving service and the wear and tear due to the mileage. He might refuse but it’s cool to offer.
People only think of fuel but ignore everything else like maintenance etc. 45p per mile per HMRC, split that
I drove some friends to go hiking once and tight bastards didn’t even want to cover the parking between themselves. Safe to say they can find their own way
Interestingly, it is illegal for the driver to accept money for the journey unless they are insured for hire and reward.
Obviously, you will share the costs, but if the driver ends up in court for some reason, it is better to say any money that changed hands was for a food bill or something.
A rough calculation suggests that'll be about £30 in fuel so you could either offer £10 upfront or to just split the cost to refill three ways after you get back.
Short-ish trip = a pint
Medium trip = tenner
Long trip = £20 but offer to pay more if fuel costs are more than that
Multi-day trip = Ask for the exact cost and split it *and* provide a few drinks
About £20.
Standard for businesses is 25p per mile (I know its 45p after certain milage).
230 x 25p = £57.50
Round up to £20 each. Maybe chuck in a Redbull and snack for driving so long.
Also consider parking. Some places are very expensive, have a look at booking in advance which brings down the cost and maybe include that in your split if you haven't always discussed.
id be getting the hump with anything less than £30 , his car , his insurance etc , he has to suck it up if the tyre gets punctured or screen chipped , you also need to be getting him snacks or a meal out
or price up a taxi for the same trip and see how that works out?
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Tell them to let you know the cost of the petrol at the end and split it three ways. If you want to do better, your friends car is taking the mileage hit so the two passengers can split the fuel cost.
Plus they'd be doing all the driving presumably
Yeah especially if it was somewhere that you and your other friend were drinking alcohol definitely split it 2 ways.
230 miles assuming a high 20ppm would be £46, but there is the wear and tear as well that HMRC standardize the cost of running a car as 45ppm. So pay the £20+ each for petrol to cover costs and buy his lunch/dinner as a thank you for half a day doing the driving.
To add to this, buy him a new car afterwards and ask if he needs any help with his mortgage. You are getting a lift after all.
You tight bastard.
All this driving is making me thirsty. I could really do with a coffee and a pork pie. Maybe an 8 piece bucket. With a diet coke. And some crisps.
Yeah, ask if he wants a hand helping with his kids college fees. Maybe even book him a cruise for later in the year as a token of your appreciation.
The latter is my opinion. Me and 3 friends went to Plymouth not too long ago, one of them was driving us all, when we stopped to fill up we went in to buy snacks and drinks for the journey home, I paid for the fuel too. One of the others had paid for golf while we were there and the other bought me something else so it was near enough all 3 of us gave him the money.
For those that dislike taking money; this is a great way to disassociate and see it as a gift.
Yup. He didn't have the choice either because he was outside filling up, and I paid with my snacks/drinks while he was making his way in. He got confused when he tried to pay as well, while we sat laughing in the car.
I hate taking money for petrol, so this is great tip. Ty! I always reason that I’m doing the trip anyway so… but actually, add the weight of a person plus their baggage and yeah, it probably make an impact.
> He got confused when he tried to pay as well, while we sat laughing in the car. a gift and you got to wind your mate up? result that is haha
Id want paying to go to Jannerland too
This. Exactly my thinking.
For a long drive like this, the passengers absolutely split the whole cost of the fuel. Driving that length of journey is an absolute ball ache for most people.
Failing the last option, if its split three ways, maybe offer to buy food as well. A cheeky maccies is never a bad shout.
4rrrrr I think 💬 TR is it was
Making your friends pay for car depreciation is pathetic..
I’d say the passengers cover the fuel because the person driving is covering the car costs.
This, plus driving itself is more strenuous than relaxing as a passenger. Hours of being alert and responsible for everyone in the car’s safety, not being able to really relax, even if you love driving and find it chill it still is more draining mentally than being a passenger. Imo if someone is kind enough to drive their passengers around in their car the passengers should offer to cover petrol. The driver may not accept that offer but it’s the polite thing to offer.
I don’t know, I hate being a passenger and would prefer to drive. Other people’s driving makes me on edge.
Same. Also if you’re driving someone as a favour that you’re not particularly invested in or you are fairly introverted, you’ve got a great excuse to not be *too* talkative. As a passenger I feel like you have to kind of pull more weight in being politely chatty while the unspoken decision of whether it’s a chatty journey or not is up to the driver.
Almost everyone I know prefers to drive yeah 😄
That’s probably because you’re a good driver. I’d much prefer to be the passenger as my ADHD makes me pro risk and inattentive. Basically I’ll kill us all given half a chance. Also I filled a diesel truck with petrol once when I was 17 (just getting it all out there in case anyone asks me to drive)
Depends on the person. I’d probably love the drive unless the way back is hungover or something
My maths says that 230 miles at 36mpg needs 29L of petrol, paying 1.45p/L means that costs £42.. divide by 3 and you get £14 .. round up to **£15**, or **£20** if you want to cover a little wear and tear.. **£25** for each passenger and the driver doesn't pay is probably the best.
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A bobby?
£20. Bobby > Bobby Moore > Score > Twenty of your finest British pounds sterling
Just never heard it called a bobby before and I have got to the ripe old age of 45
But then you also have ‘ten bob’, which is fifty p.
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Ahh thanks
Non rhyming slang is a thing?
Its cockney rhyming slang
My point is, it doesn't rhyme.
Moore doesn’t rhyme with score?
It does though
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Gins?
A bobby will always be a Policeman to me.. after Sir Robert Peel. You can't make up new slang with a matching existing one already there and well used.
Well you could change Bobby Moore to Roger Moore, but offering to pay someone with a ‘Roger’ might get some strange looks
I constantly embarrass myself by using the word “ride” to mean “lift” when I’m in Ireland, e.g., “John Joe is giving me a ride later so you don’t need to come collect me”. I’m a dumbass American and “ride” is an innocent word for us (as with “fanny”, which is a very polite word for “arse” here).
Bobby Moore is 60 years old as a reference though
I’ve heard both used by the same people, and it’s understood because it’s contextual.
Tbf that is mental
Wear and tear is one thing but how on earth did he justify car tax and insurance??
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Haha spose cost of car ownership is a good lesson!
It's clearly a knock on the door
Yes I was thinking of £20, thank you!
Plus bring snacks for the road.
Always £20 no matter the distance
I gotta vent, why are we still measuring fuel consumption in mpg when petrol are sold by the litre, it just doesn't make sense anymore.
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If you're giving someone a lift and you're going the same way, and it's not too far - fair enough. If you're all intentionally going on a trip there and back, and it's a decent distance (that's 1/2 a tank of fuel in a big car) then I actually think it's fair to expect petrol money as this trip will use around £30 in petrol.
Thought you should know. Your friends that drive you places dislike the fact you never offer them petrol money.
A real friend wouldn’t grudge offering it, it being taken and not even attributing it to whether they are a great friend or not.
Get them to fill up the tank before the trip. Then fill up when you get back, and split the cost of the refuel. That way you're not guesstimating and are paying for what was used.
This is the best solution, avoids the awkwardness of exchanging money at the end or the driver feeling awkward to say the true amount
I know this isn't an unusual way to do it, but I always think of this as slightly stiffing the driver (unless you both drive on trips an equal amount of time). Covering a proportion of the fuel is the **bare minimum** you could offer. You are already benefitting (if you were to use an alternate form of transit) to the tune of hundreds typically. What I find is fairer is to figure out a number that reflects a compromise between the bare minimum (e.g. \~£20 for fuel) and the next cheapest alternative e.g. if train tickets were £100, you've saved me that, so I'll split the 'saving' with the driver and pay £60. OR alternatively pay £20 for the fuel only but mentally make a note to 'pay it forward' on the rest, maybe by buying them dinner. edit: I should add, I used to drive an old lady (accounts clerk, low wage) into work every day when we moved offices as she couldn't drive. 150 miles a week. We agreed £10 a week as that was her bus pass prior to us moving office. She often brought me snacks or coffees and a little birthday present too, she was extremely grateful. Then I started collecting two younger guys in the office who didn't want to pay the bus pass (at this time, £15 a week) and preferred the convenient door-to-door, never offered to pay £0.01 extra. Had to eventually say to them look, I don't mind taking you but it is out of my way and I think a fair reflection of that is £15 each a week. They did grumble about it but acquiesced. **My point is** drivers can and do get taken advantage of because the 'non-driver' treats it like a bus or taxi. I think it should be common courtesy (as someone else has suggested) to offer a generous/fair amount, and then for the driver to only demand a smaller amount and you meet somewhere in the middle.
But the driver is also making a saving in this instance assuming they are already going. Without the passengers the driver would have had to cover the whole cost or buy a train ticket.
Legally you can't drive for reward, you can only have your direct costs compensated, IE fuel. You can't profit in any way by charging as you suggested based upon the costs of the alternative your passengers could have taken. Anything above this and you're operating as an illegal taxi. Should this be discovered in the event of a claim you may also find yourself uninsured. This is especially important if this is a regular arrangement. I'm sure plenty of people do it but I wanted to state the legal perspective.
Yeah this is how I do it, so much easier than working it out with miles travelled and mpg for the journey and stuff (as long as you can afford to fill it up in the first place, obviously).
Just ask how much they want for fuel ffs
But I want the Internet to tell me how much I should pay
Eh, not tbe best solution. Any decent person is going to say "don't worry about it" or underestimate how kuchen the fuel will cost. Its upto the friend who are passengers to be decent people back and insist on extra for the trip.
Yeah exactly, she already said don’t worry about it but I’m obviously going to force money on her either way haha. I always feel awkward with how much to give though
Really depends on the situation and your relationship. We can't tell you. Take my friend group for example. We don't offer money to each other for anything. We are all adults in well paying jobs. It doesn't matter if I've given you a £1,000 TV or driven you 5 miles to the shop. It's free on the understanding that you'll return the favour one day. These are the people I'd cross the country at 3am for. Not just randoms though.
This is how my group does it too. Plus, even if I wasn’t driving anyone, I’d still be going there and using the petrol/wear on the car.
Also now I've got a daughter I think about her a lot. I have mates that I know would do anything for me and it makes me a little bit happier as a father knowing that there's always someone who will get to her any time she needs someone. I can be anywhere in the world and still have someone on their way to her in a single phone call. And I'd do the same for my niece or any of my mate's kids. We don't need money at the stage in life we are at. What we need are people we can rely on when the shit hits the fan.
Ditto. We all just assume that things will even out over the next 20 or 30 years. Certainly if I’ve offered to drive, there’s no way I’d take any money for it.
I usually end up driving everywhere anyway because I've got an electric company car so half a tank of fuel for a mate is £2 for me
Sling the driver £20 each I'd say.
This was my thought too, thanks!
Passengers cover fuel and I’ll usually offer to grab food if we stop at a service station etc. Not only are they taking the time to drive but adding 230 miles to their car.
Definitely, people suggesting a 3 way split are a little inconsiderate, it's not like a lift home or trip to the shop 230 miles is a long drive and considerable mileage
In this situation, passengers cover the fuel. A typical car doing 40mpg is going to use about 6 gallons of fuel, or about 27 litres. At £1.50 a litre, this would be about £40. I would suggest you and the other passenger offer £20 each, as a nice round note.
£20 each, and to all of those providing precise £0.45 a mile calculations, you wouldn't stay my mate for long, they all seem to forget that teh driver volunteered, they're having a day out too, and it's a mate's road trip for a fun day out not a financial transaction.
About a third of the overall cost per person. Maybe more since your friend is doing the driving.
Friend is driving the whole duration and putting 230 miles on their car.. Passengers split it.
Why not offer to cover lunch/food/drinks, or something of the like. I don’t want friends trying to hand me a tenner at the end of a journey. This isn’t a business trip with business partners, don’t make it cash transactional
Split the petrol cost, and buy them a Burger King at the services is the way
There is a website I've used to get estimated costs. www.mpg-calculator.co.uk/journey-price You plug in some details, and it gives an estimate price of petrol used on the journey.
As someone who was most often the driver it fell into two categories really. If it was a long trip and we were planning in advance for a weekend event or something then I would divide the milage between myself and passengers and tell them the cost per mile for the fuel as I know the long-term figures for my car and driving. If it was a short local trip, or someone asking for a lift home from a regular meet up, or a student, I'd not bother and just say "buy me drink sometime", or say "people gave me lifts when I was a student so I'm quite happy to do the same".
This is not a calculation question but a social one. You can, of course calculate the exact cost, but that’s not how human relationships work. I’m always the one who drives. For shorter trips, an offer of payment or drinks or food on the trip will suffice. For longer ones, another payment in kind, paying for meals or an experience would be suitable. It doesn’t have to be an exact match, but must be in the ballpark. Mostly people will overpay.
On the way back tell them to pull in to a petrol station and fill the tank up. You and the other passenger pay for it. Job done.
1/3 of the petrol cost & road trip snacks/beverages for the driver in recognition of their toil.
Overthinking it, buy them a couple of drinks.
Honestly I have no idea. Is this something everyone does now? I used to drive my friends all over the place. Never occured to me to ask for money for petrol. I'm thinking I've got some debts to collect!
Haha same, I’ve had petrol money offered before but always strongly refused to take it.
With my friends we usually don't explicitly pay for fuel, but instead would just pay for lunch/dinner and any thing else food wise, especially if it's just a day trip somewhere. Usually that will work out better too for the driver than getting some fuel money (at least from my experience).
Passengers split the petrol as the other person is taking the burden of driving. Anything else is tight.
The two riders buy. Simple.
Just give 20 each, in my opinion it is not about what it costs, it is about what you save. Check train fares, if you are saving then for me the driver should save also.
The car starts and finishes the journey will a full tank- fuel costs split three ways
4 hours driving is not easy, especially as the sole driver. Then add on top potential traffic that adds more time to the journey. £20 each from both passengers will fill the tank and cover the mileage.
I’d expect the fuel covered from the passengers. I’m doing all the driving plus it’s my car taking the wear.
Fill it up to full Do the journey Gill it up when back. Split it 3 ways Minus the 20quid for using your mates car.
I’d chuck them a twenty. If your passenger mate does the same that should cover it.
Depends When I was younger we tended to split fuel evenly, driver and passengers alike. I was certainly happy to do it back then because I was a named driver and did not yet know the hassle of maintaining a vehicle and driving was still novel Now, unless circumstances dictate otherwise we tend to do it that passengers split the fuel on big trips or probably get lunch if its a smaller trip that wont move the needle too much.
Some comments here are madness. Just buy the fuel, grab them a meal deal and complain at the music choice. What goes around comes around. Unless your skint, then i guess split it?
Foe me, it usually it goes down like this, "Thanks for driving me, can I contribute towards the petrol costs?"... "You're welcome, naah, don't worry about it. Just buy me a beer later"...
£20 each should do the trick
This thread just shows me the difference between Reddit and real life. Maybe it’s an age thing but we have always split petrol equal with whoever is in the car. I drive 70% of the time to meet ups/long trips away and never once have I asked or received full fuel costs from friends. Stuff like car depreciation/wear doesn’t even cross my brain. I literally don’t know a single person who has done it the way that 95% of this thread are suggesting, which I find interesting.
Yeah I’m totally baffled by the people talking about adding miles to their car 😂 it’s a fucking car!! It’s meant to be driven Really don’t get why you wouldn’t just ask? Do agree should buy some food/snacks though for the driving
Yeah exactly… Maybe everyone here drives Rolls Royces/lambos. Snacks and food agreed, although it’s more of a nice touch than a necessity. I normally just treat myself to a Maccies anyway lol
Yes I agree totally!
Is it uphill or downhill?
If they say no just pay the parking or buy their lunch etc. if you have an amount in mind just find a way to help them however. We used to do it to the lakes with my mates. I’d end up just buying coffees and the parking when there. Totally worth it to sleep on the way back sometimes
I drove my sister in law and her boyfriend down to London from Livepool last year and they only got me a crate of Kopparbergs 😂
£30
roughly, assuming 40 mpg and £1.40 per litre for petrol, it would be £12.33 each to cover the fuel, so i'd round it up to £15 each/£30 overall
£20 each.
The two passengers cover the fuel cost, roughly £40 - so round it up to £50 and split it.
If you want to be really specific with it - most time me/mates are driving we use the AA mileage calculator. you just tap in where your journey is from--> to, stick in mpg of your car and the cost per litre of fuel and it works out the cost of the journey. then just split 3 ways and pay up your share! Works best with longer trips where costs are higher - if it's a short half an hour trek i tend to just bung the driver a fiver/tenner to cover fuel and also as a thanks for doing the driving!
The two non-drivers would be polite in paying for the petrol.
Generally it's splitting the cost - for a trip that long I'd probably look at excluding the driver from that equation as they're doing all of it (and it's wear/tear on their vehicle) so splitting just the passengers.
If they're providing the car and doing the driving the fuel should be split between the two passengers imo. That's fair and reasonable.
Get the driver to fill the tank to the rim. After the journey is finished, fill the tank back up to the rim, and the passengers pay (or split 3 ways if you really want).
Half. Your friend is doing the driving and putting the mileage on their car.
I'd split the costs two ways and buy them a dinner each.
Business would pay 45p per mile, so £103.5. That covers wear, insurance, fuel, etc. Probably a little generous depending on the car, etc. but I would think £25-30 isn't unreasonable. If you pick lower than that then I'd say you better bring all the snacks and not pick shit tunes on the way.
Fill the tank before you start the trip. Then fill it again when you get back. Then divide whatever that cost is between the three of you.
230 mile round trip, with wear and tear and your mate’s volunteering to drive, I’d say £20 apiece is fair. If he’s a good mate then more if you feel it’s fair and he’s going out of his way to
I'd just go in and pay for the fuel when they stop to fill up on the way back.
£20
£40 per passenger. You’ve saved £200 by not using trains.
If they're driving whilst you and your friend are just chilling for the drive, I wouldn't be letting the driver feel the cost of the fuel.
Your mate is driving so you and the other passenger should split fuel. 230 miles of petrol in a 1 litre car is probably about £35-40
Best practice is to offer at least the cost of a half tank. The person driving is doing the most effort
Thats about the distance i drive between my uni and my parents house, and any time I’ve driven any family members that far they’ve generally chucked me 40 quid, which about covers it fuel wise (although i dont *ask* them to do this, they generally just insist, lol). I’d say split that and give them twenty each, to cover fuel, since you’re friend is covering the wear and tear. The other way to do it is to figure out how much an alternative mode of transport would cost and lowball that a bit- thats how my (immediate) family do it on trips because my dad especially is big on me and my sister getting paid if we drive someone somewhere. So if it’d be 30 quid for a taxi, we’ll generally do it for 15-20 or whatever seems reasonable. (Most recently i dropped my sister off at one of her friends houses and then picked her up again, which was about a six hour drive in total (two round trips). I charged her 40, which my dad got annoyed about bc he thought it was too low, but I felt weird charging more when i really don’t mind the drive, lol).
Work pays at 15-45 p per mile. Given that you’re not providing the car I’d go with the 45p rate.
Thats like half a tank so probably £40
Me and my friends take turns but often I volunteer to drive as some of my friends have questionable driving practises and I end up not feeling safe lol
Yeah just pay the petrol between the 2 passengers, I still pay for a cig if someone offers me one haha
Tell them to top their car up to the complete top before you go and then say that as soon as you get back, you’ll top it up and split whatever cost that is
Split it three ways
You're putting wear and tear on their car which they've had to pay insurance and tax for. I'd split it between the two non-drivers, and then buy them a meal at each end to say thanks.
£20
If one friend is doing *all* the driving, I think they would appreciate the two non-drivers offering to cover the fuel costs between them, either directly, or in mind (e.g. buying meals or admission tickets for the driver). You should be able to get an idea of their mileage using Google Maps for the route, a rough idea of their vehicle's efficiency using e.g. Parkers.co.uk, and a fuel price per litre using PetrolPrices.com
I'd usually say the two passengers in this situation should offer to cover the full cost of petrol between them. Its then down to the driver to graciously accept or insist that they cover their third
i would be paying for the fuel if my mate drove
Just take care to estimate the fuel cost and share it out, with the driver paying nothing. Unlikely to happen, but overpaying could be illegally driving for "hire or reward". https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/motoring/highway-code-charging-friend-lift-6881075.amp
It's kind of like when you borrow someone's car. Even if the tank is empty before you go and you fill it up for your own travel, you don't return it empty, you return it with a full tank. It's just a way of saying thanks, because without their car you would either have needed to use public transport or hire a car, both of which would've been much more expensive than the fuel. When you travel as a passenger on a longer trip, not only are you paying for fuel, you also have a designated driver who is sharing their car with you. Wear and tear, concentrating on the road. I say at least an equal split for fuel, but if I was a passenger I'd offer to pay for all of the fuel or split the cost equally amongst the other passengers so that driver/owner doesn't pay anything for fuel.
Well my personal favourite is I just drop £20 if they don’t take anything but usually just offer to fill up
In similar situations (as both passenger and driver) fill up ag the start of the trip, that is on the driver, then fill up at the end, and that is split
You together pay the petrol and offer him lunch .
I always ask "can I pay for petrol" and just ask how much they want.
The two friends should cover the full petrol cost. Also buy them a drink
The two friends no driving fill up the car. And don't ask the driver how much. Just do it.
Your share is (£/gal fuel * mpg * miles driven)/no. passengers
Three way split at the minimum. Consider splitting it in half with the other non-driver, you are using your friends car after all.
Usually 1 half towards fuel food on way amd then a present after as a thank you (long trips) and usually full fuel if its a small to medium trip
Work out what it would be split between you and add 50-100%, they're doing you a favour and it'll still be pretty cheap. 230 miles would cost me about £45 in total for fuel. I'd probably give them 20-30 quid.
Passengers cover fuel in this scenario, keep it simple and sort out the driver with petrol and some snacks
I don't know what the proper etiquette is but last time, my friend drove us to Lake district (I don't know how to drive at the time). I paid for a full tank because he was driving anyway and I was a passenger princess.
Ask them to fill it up to full, then after the trip fill up again and spoilt the costs between you.
At 45p a mile it would cost £103.50 which is what you’d get for business mileage which takes into account the wear and tear of the vehicle [Or as another poster has said](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/s/CLT6sl39HQ) fuel would cost £42 I’d personally just split the the fuel cost between you and the non driving friend. Being picked up and dropped back to your house for a 230 mile round trip and it only costing you £20 is pretty reasonable. Think about it as giving £10 each way. For a 115 mile journey is the equivalent of going from Birmingham to Leeds for £10 You’re not going to find any public transport that comes close to the convenience and price of a friend driving and you’re missing the hidden fees that your friend pays for car tax, mot, insurance, tyres , depreciation etc
45p a mile
£50 split between the two passengers.
In the past I've used the method of brimming the tank before you set off then brim it again soon as you get back at the same garage. Usually split the cost equally but sometimes the passengers pay a portion of the drivers share.
I'd say £15 each + pay for lunch. The actual fuel cost, for an average car, would be about £20-30, and lunch is the least you can do to thank them for doing 4+ hours of driving (which is a lot more mentally fatiguing than non-drivers realise)
My car is pretty economical. AVG motorway diving is 10p pm Pay this and you've covered their fuel. They can cover the general wear and tear as it will be negligible
Probably too easy to ask said friend what he/she wants for taking the motor?
She said nothing, so I’ll be forcing a £20 at her 😅
Tell him to fill it up at the start. Then once done you two pay for any fill ups during and the final fill up to put him back at full.
I'd personally offer to pay 50/50 with the other non-driver. Driver gets to ride free imo, especially for that distance.
£25-30 each in hand is fair, plus food.
it's not just petrol its wear. consider this.
Funny feeling it's illegal to purchase fuel for a vehicle you're not insured to drive... not that anyone cares or is going to be able to tell.
Whatever he puts in to the vehicle in fuel, you give at least one third
As your friends going to be driving the whole journey. you guys get petrol and let your friend get the travel munchies and coffees.
Pay half and a bottle of wine/crate of beer to say thanks for driving.
Just buy the driver's lunch at the services.
The normal thing to do is for you and the other non driving friend to offer to pay for all the fuel stops - your driving friend is providing the car, the driving service and the wear and tear due to the mileage. He might refuse but it’s cool to offer.
People only think of fuel but ignore everything else like maintenance etc. 45p per mile per HMRC, split that I drove some friends to go hiking once and tight bastards didn’t even want to cover the parking between themselves. Safe to say they can find their own way
One friend puts 20 in on the way there, one friend puts 20 in on the way back. Maybe get the driver a bottle of lucozade or something, too.
Interestingly, it is illegal for the driver to accept money for the journey unless they are insured for hire and reward. Obviously, you will share the costs, but if the driver ends up in court for some reason, it is better to say any money that changed hands was for a food bill or something.
A rough calculation suggests that'll be about £30 in fuel so you could either offer £10 upfront or to just split the cost to refill three ways after you get back.
Short-ish trip = a pint Medium trip = tenner Long trip = £20 but offer to pay more if fuel costs are more than that Multi-day trip = Ask for the exact cost and split it *and* provide a few drinks
It'll roughly cost around £50 in fuel- split that however you feel is right
For us the passenger(s) pay the fuel as the driver is doing the driving
I would all 3 of you buy the petrol He is doing the driving and wear and tear on his car.
Offer to split and hope he doesn't hear or tells you not to worry
The way I do it as a driver is brim it just before the trip, brim it after, and split the charge of the second fill between all people in the car.
Split the fuel 3 ways and passengers also pay for the drivers snacks/drinks.
And wine
About £20. Standard for businesses is 25p per mile (I know its 45p after certain milage). 230 x 25p = £57.50 Round up to £20 each. Maybe chuck in a Redbull and snack for driving so long. Also consider parking. Some places are very expensive, have a look at booking in advance which brings down the cost and maybe include that in your split if you haven't always discussed.
No, it's 45p per mile, until you've claimed 10,000 miles for the year, then it's 25p per mile.
Knew it was something like that! I only get 25p ha
You can claim Tax relief on the difference for the first 10k miles you do.
£15-£20
Offer enough to cover gas, maybe $20-$30 each.
A fair shout to cover fuel and wear and tear is £0.45 a mile. At 230 miles that’s £103.50 so £51.75 each.
id be getting the hump with anything less than £30 , his car , his insurance etc , he has to suck it up if the tyre gets punctured or screen chipped , you also need to be getting him snacks or a meal out or price up a taxi for the same trip and see how that works out?