Driver Reimbursement Guidelines
Cars are often necessary for VOC trips, and are (unfortunately) quite expensive. Often passengers are not aware of the true cost of vehicle ownership, or the annoying things they might do without realizing it. Drivers can forget that they were once passengers too, and their passengers probably have the best intentions.
Contents
Cost of Driving
Here's a rough estimate of the costs of various trips, based on the numbers in the "Vehicle Cost Comparison" section. As a passenger, expect to pay 1/3 or 1/4 of this amount (depending on the number of people in your car). Drivers, if your costs will be significantly more than this, please let your passengers (or trip organizer, for a workhike) know in advance.
- Squamish (Smoke Bluffs): $40
- Brew Hut: $60
- Whistler Village: $70
- Phelix Creek: $120
The specific amount may be more or less than this depending on the car - 4x4s that get you right up to the trailhead will cost a lot!
Things to keep in mind as a passenger
- Nothing says "I don't appreciate what you did for me" more effectively than not chipping in for gas.
- Driving around the city to pick everybody up takes time - your driver probably got up an hour earlier than you, and won't get home until an hour after you. Be outside, ready to go in the morning.
- If you ride "shotgun" (the front passenger seat) it's expected that you stay awake with the driver to help navigate and keep them awake. If you can't do it, try and switch with one of the other passengers.
- Cars are expensive. Insurance alone costs between $80 and $300 per month, depending on driving history and coverage. Ownership may average at around perhaps $2000 per year, but varies wildly.
- You often forget stuff in people's cars. Usually garbage. Please try and take it with you.
- Your driver may "trump" dinner decisions one way or the other (no food, fast and dirty, sit down meal). Keep in mind that they are the ones who need to stay awake and alert for everybody to stay alive on the drive home, so be forgiving.
- Once you have accepted a ride, don't bail. If you do, your driver will be out of pocket by the amount you would have paid, unless you can be replaced as a passenger. And you may be depriving somebody else of the chance to go on the trip by taking (and then not using) a ride. Be reliable.
Things to keep in mind as a driver
Main article: How to have a smooth driving experience
Suggested Reimbursement
Passengers pay for gas, wear-and-tear, parking etc. for that trip, drivers "pay" by bringing the car but otherwise ride for free. If you're overloaded you might "make" a bit of money (but probably incurred more wear and tear), and if you only have one or two passengers maybe chip in for a bit of the gas yourself.
As a benchmark, assume your driver will burn 10L per 100km (if a car) or 15L per 100km (if a truck), and charge a little extra for wear and tear. Expect them to round up to the nearest easy increment. If driving up a logging road expect more "extra" for wear and tear - this stuff is hard on vehicles. Drivers - if you feel you need to charge substantially more than this, let your passengers know in advance so they can have enough cash.
Those whose vehicles can and do accommodate a bunch of gear (i.e. pickup trucks) but not many passengers should be reimbursed somehow, since they are still providing a helpful service despite not having many passengers, and they are probably paying more to have a bigger vehicle.
If you or your pack get ferried up a logging road, please consider giving some extra to the driver of the 4x4. If they get a good tip for their time, gas, wear and tear they might consider doing it again - otherwise they probably won't.
On larger trips, one or two drivers might be contributing a carsharing vehicle (Modo, Zipcar, ...). Since they are more expensive than other cars, it might be a nice gesture if all other passengers contribute a little bit towards that cost. The easiest way to do this is if all other drivers give some money to the carsharing drivers and in turn collect a bit more money from their passengers.
Random major expenses which "pop up" - flat tires, speeding tickets, mechanical breakdown, etc. are the responsibility of the car owner, just as they would be if they occurred outside a VOC trip.
Empty Seats
There seems to be some agreement that if your car is full (say a driver and 4 passengers), the gas expense is split among the passengers, and the driver doesn't pay for gas. If there are empty seat(s), then the gas expense may be split among all the people in the car at the drivers discretion.
A driver might choose to not drive if he/she has too many empty seats. Of course if a passenger bails, and this produces "too many empty seats", the other passengers suffer.
Vehicle Cost Comparison
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) annually releases a Driving Costs, a report on the costs of car ownership. They describe the typical per kilometer variable costs as well as fixed depreciation costs. The most useful chart on the report for our purposes is "Average Annual Operating Costs per Kilometre- Variable" on page 4.
The chart below attempts to capture the marginal cost of bringing a particular vehicle on a trip compared to leaving it in the city. Insurance and parking costs are not included in the total because they are fixed costs. Only part of the depreciation cost is considered because some depreciation occurs even if a vehicle is not driven, simply due to age.
| Vehicle | Fuel economy (typical L/100km) | Tires | Regular Maintenance (per 5,000 km) | Repairs | Depreciation | Insurance (per year) | Parking (per year) | Fuel cost (cents/km) | Tire cost (cents/km) | Maintenance Cost (cents/km) | Repair Cost (cents/km) | Depreciation Cost - Mileage component only (cents/km) | Total (cents/km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madeline (2001 Nissan Pathfinder) | 13 (on 89 Octane fuel) | summer tires: $1,200 / 75,000km. winter tires: $850/ ??km | $100 | ~$2,500 over 75,000km so far | Estimate $20,000 over 175,000km and 10 years. 50% due to mileage, 50% due to age | $2,000 | 15.6 | 1.6 | 2 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 28.2 | |
| Sam (2003 Toyota Corolla) | 7 | 9 | 1.2 | 4.7 | (incl in Maintenance) | 5.1 | 20 | ||||||
| Scott's Car (1993 Plymouth Colt) | 8 | $750 / 75000km (including damage repair/replacement) | $100 (includes only minor items such as oil, filters, plugs, wiper blades etc.) | $4,000 / previous 80,000 km (includes everything else, but not significant tool investment) | Estimate $15,000 over 15 years, assume $6,000 of that from 300,000 km | $950 (not included in km figures) | 10 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 20 | |
| Jacob (1994 Ford Ranger) | 12 | $800 / 75000km | $100 | $1000 | $0 | $2000 | 13.8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 26.8 | ||
| Evan's Car (1999 4Runner) | 13 | $1,000 / 75000km (excluding extra snow tires) | $150 (estimated) | est. $1,000 / yr at 20k/yr = $25/500km => $15-25 per trip! | $1,000 / yr seems appropriate, but should be an owner's expense IMO | $$$ | 15.6 | 1.3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 26.9 | |
| Roland (2002 Jeep Liberty) | 14 | $900 / 75000km | $100 | $1000 / year | $0.09/km, 50% mileage, 50% age | No marginal cost | No parking cost | 16.8 | 1.3 | 2 | 5 | 4.5 | 29 |
| 12 | $900 / 75000km | $100 | $2,000 / year | Troopers do not depreciate | No marginal cost | 13 | 1.3 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 26.3 | ||
| Will W. (2003 Toyota 4Runner) | 13 | $1,500 / 75000km | $150 | ~$400 over 40,000km so far | ~$2,000/year for the next few years (50/50 age/milage @20,000km/yr) | $2,200 | $600 | 15.6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 27 |
| Paul L. (1989 Ford Taurus) | 11 | $975 / 75000km | $80 | ~$600 over 10,000km | It's an '89 Taurus. It has no value left to lose. | $1260 | 13.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 6 | 22.1 | ||
| Colin's (1998 Heavily Modified 4Runner) | 14 | $1200 / 40000 km (33" M/T snow tire hybrids - soft rubber) | $200 (fluids, belts, brakes, wipers, cleaning, bulbs, rotations, etc) | $1,500 (averaged) | $1,000 (about half to mileage) | $2000 (with perfect record) | $300 (est. chunk of rent to garage) | 16.8 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 3.3 | 37.1 |
| Bob's (2006 Civic) | 8 | haven't replaced tired yet, coming up soon ~$750/75000 km | $150 | ~$1000 so far | ~$2,000/year for the next few years (50/50 age/milage @20,000km/yr) | $2000 | $50 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1.2 | 5 | 20.2 |
Some Distances (according to Google Maps)
- Note: distances are one way, starting from the SUB (6138 Student Union Bouldevard) calculated with google maps.
| Destination | City (km) | Highway (km) | Gravel (km) | Rough 4x4 (km) | One Way Total (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coquihalla: Falls Lake | 18 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 211 |
| Coquihalla: Zopikos (Needle Peak, Yak, Nak, Zupjok) | 18 | 187 | 0 | 0 | 205 |
| Manning Park Lodge | 18 | 209 | 0 | 0 | 227 |
| Manning Park Ski Hill | 18 | 220 | 0 | 0 | 238 |
| Squamish - smoke bluffs. | 20 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| Diamond Head Parking Lot | 21 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 93 |
| Brew Hut | 20 | 86 | 2 | 0 | 106 to highway turnoff |
| Rubble Creek - Garibaldi Lake / Black Tusk | 20 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 109 to end of plowed road. 111 to parking lot |
| Whistler Creek | 20 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 129 |
| Whistler Village | 20 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 134 |
| Rogers Pass | 18 | 625 | 0 | 0 | ? |
| Phelix Creek (Birkenhead Lake Park) | 20 | 186 | 13 | 6 | 219 to start of logging road. 225 to end of logging road |
