Should I raise my travel fee or leave it alone?

Hi guys I suppose this is the spot to post such a question. A company is hiring me again this year for a weekly (sometimes twice a week) painting job. It is for 3 hours each time (full rate) plus $20 travel. Now here is my question. The business is approx 60 miles from my house. I have raised my travel fee slightly since last year. Since it is a reliable weekly job do I just keep it the same for them as last year? Or do I tell them I have raised it a bit and risk shooting myself in the foot?

Does the $20 cover your travel expenses?

It is your call...

My travel rate is subject to change and I currently charge $0.50/km (which is equivalent to $1.40 +/- mile I think?) So if you are traveling 120 miles (round trip).... $20 is really low...

I feel it is low too Shannon, I am still very new when it come to going a distance for jobs but I am thinking $30. I googled it and it is actually 50 miles from me so that makes it a little better. I use about $20 in gas per trip there. I have read over the travel threads and just need to come up with something concrete and stand on it.

Dear Jody Rife:
I do not know about how it is in the States, here the gas prices have gone up by almost 80% in the last three years. What with all the snow and howling wolves we have to contend with here in Toronto, I have no compunction regarding having them pay for my travel. Remember, this does not only cover your gas, wear and tear on your car, insurance, it also covers a tiny bit of your time, as it is outside your usual travel boundaries.

Happy Travelling!

xoxox

I also like to consider my time when traveling for events. If it's a half hour trip there and back, an hour total... that's a total hour I DON'T have for another booking.

These are my current travel fees =

Under 10km (roundtrip) → No travel fee
11 - 20km (roundtrip) → $5.00
21 - 30km (roundtrip) → $10.00
31 - 40km (roundtrip) → $15.00
41 - 50km (roundtrip) → $20.00

I think they're high enough to compensate my time fairly, but also low enough to not get a lot of complaints. I've only had one lady try to haggle down the travel fee.

When I travel for gigs it is usually a long way. An hour or three at highway speeds... so my travel charges are usually substantial. Last Saturday's booking was $96 for travel and my annual August festival the travel is $254 (which is easy math - if it is 96 kms one way then I charge $96 as it is 50 cents per km round trip!)

I only charge for travel if the trip is over 50 kms round trip (so 25 kms from my location).

No one has ever tried to haggle out of it. Travel charges are common and most trades charge more than I for it, gas is $1.25 a litre town.

Well here I do it diferent, about distance I do pretty much like Janna, but if have to go to manhattan,bronx or NJ, I also charge toll's cost, they are from 13.00 and up round trip

Thank you all so much for your input. I have taken all the info and weighed it out, searched even more on what others charge for similar services in my area and decided to set a set rate for travel to that area of $35. It isn't as high as I could have went but I felt it was fair and it felt right to me. I do not know what I would do without this forum. Thank you all for sharing.

No, saying all that ,I haven't heard back from the company yet, I really don't think there will be a problem but if there is, I will just have to deal with it as it comes.