Comments on: How much to charge for travel time?

Question: How much to charge for travel time?

naelyn — Tue, 23 May 2006 11:59:54 -0800

My father is an independent consultant, and works for $900/day in the formulated food business. What rate should he charge for travel time (per day) when he travels coast-to-coast for an assignment?

I should note that these travel assignments--while still in his field--are not his primary source of income. In each case, the potential employer, makes a specific request for him to fly out for the contract job.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Tue, 23 May 2006 12:13:24 -0800

Is he still making $900/day on these remote assignments, once on-site? One would assume he could be making $900/day on the days he is in transit, so his travel rate should take that opportunity cost into account. Since flying does not constitute a full day's work, then in addition to paying for airfare, he could ask for something like 50% his daily rate for the necessary travel.

By: FauxScot

FauxScot — Tue, 23 May 2006 12:43:49 -0800

My usual practice was to charge slightly less for travel, but not much. A sizeable fraction of $900/day would be appropriate and if he can command it for his work, he is justified in commanding it for his time travelling.

What does he actually do now? Is he running into problems with clients not wanting to pay for travel?

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Tue, 23 May 2006 12:51:49 -0800

If your dad has a back log of work he can do at his home location, and prefers not to travel, then he should set his travel rate at a value greater than his daily rate. That way, he doesn't have to turn down distant work, but the employer compensates him adequately for lost opportunity and inconvenience.

If there isn't enough work, and he doesn't mind traveling to fill his plate, then he could charge less than his normal daily rate as other suggest.

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:15:58 -0800

When I have hired freelance camera and sound guys, I have tended to pay travel days at anywhere from 50% to 75% of their day rate, depending on travel time, how high their rate is, and how badly I want them.

I have had people try to negotiate for a full day rate for travel days, but they have thus far not been successful.

Very different industry, though, so my information may not be wholly relevant. Just thought I'd provide it as a data point.

By: freakystyley

freakystyley — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:17:18 -0800

Woah, I read "time travel" instead of "travel time" :P. To answer your question, given the fact that "time is money", I'd be pressed to go use my normal salary rate. But to be reasonable, I'd go with a fraction of the rate instead. 1/3 to a half?

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Tue, 23 May 2006 13:39:00 -0800

The couple of specialized contractors I hire charge their daily rate + living out + expenses for travel to my site.

By: Emperor SnooKloze

Emperor SnooKloze — Tue, 23 May 2006 15:04:26 -0800

Where I work, we typically get compensatory remuneration (comp time) for actual time traveled. Your day can do the same sort of thing, I imagine, if he breaks down fee on an hourly basis.

By: blag

blag — Tue, 23 May 2006 15:06:01 -0800

I charge my daily rate plus expenses. I also promise the client that, where possible, I'll be working on their project whilst travelling. That way it's harder for them to see it as "wasted" money.

By: randomstriker

randomstriker — Tue, 23 May 2006 16:40:49 -0800

There isn't a hard and fast rule for this kind of thing -- it comes down to what the market will bear and what your competition is doing.

But to bring up a counterpoint, another school of thought for contract work is that you charge high rates for actual time worked only, because your non-billable time such as travel, management, R&D, etc is factored in.

By: raf

raf — Tue, 23 May 2006 17:28:35 -0800

In law at least, travel time is typically billed out at full normal rates, though some clients do negotiate down.