{
  "slug": "mobile-mechanic-route-economics",
  "title": "Mobile Mechanic Route Economics Calculator",
  "heading": "Mobile Mechanic Route Economics Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/mobile-mechanic-route-economics",
  "summary": "See if your drive time and vehicle cost are quietly eating your day's labor revenue.",
  "description": "A mobile mechanic's real constraint isn't hours in the day, it's billable wrench-time squeezed between drive legs, and that drive time carries a direct cost in fuel, vehicle wear, and unpaid time that a fixed shop never has to absorb. This calculator takes a day's scheduled jobs, average drive time between stops, and vehicle operating cost per mile to compute effective hourly earnings after subtracting drive time and vehicle cost from gross labor revenue, so you can see whether your route density and job spacing are actually profitable or whether you're functionally working for less than a shop-based flat rate once windshield time is priced in. Route density — jobs clustered by geography — is the single biggest lever mobile operators have, more than raising the labor rate itself.",
  "formula": "Billable Hours = Job Hours; Drive Hours = Total Drive Time. Effective Hourly = (Labor Revenue − Vehicle Cost) ÷ (Job Hours + Drive Hours).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=mobile-mechanic-route-economics",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "jobsDay",
      "label": "Jobs scheduled per day",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "avgJobHours",
      "label": "Average job length",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.25,
      "unit": "hrs",
      "min": 0.25,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "laborRate",
      "label": "Labor rate charged",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 120,
      "unit": "$/hr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "avgDriveMin",
      "label": "Average drive time between jobs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 25,
      "unit": "min",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "milesPerLeg",
      "label": "Average miles per drive leg",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "costPerMile",
      "label": "Vehicle cost per mile",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.75,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "effectiveHourly",
      "label": "Effective hourly (after drive + vehicle cost)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "driveShare",
      "label": "Share of day spent driving",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "vehicleCost",
      "label": "Daily vehicle operating cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "driveHours",
      "label": "Total drive hours today",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "netRevenue",
      "label": "Net revenue after vehicle cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Jobs scheduled per day: 4",
      "Average job length: 1.25 hrs",
      "Labor rate charged: 120 $/hr",
      "Average drive time between jobs: 25 min",
      "Average miles per drive leg: 12",
      "Vehicle cost per mile: 0.75 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Effective hourly (after drive + vehicle cost): $84.60",
      "Share of day spent driving: 25.0%",
      "Daily vehicle operating cost: $36.00",
      "Total drive hours today: 1.67",
      "Net revenue after vehicle cost: $564.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter jobs scheduled per day.",
      "Enter average job length (hrs).",
      "Enter labor rate charged ($/hr).",
      "Enter average drive time between jobs (min).",
      "Enter average miles per drive leg.",
      "Enter vehicle cost per mile ($).",
      "Read your effective hourly (after drive + vehicle cost) on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "jobsDay": 2,
        "avgJobHours": 0.75,
        "laborRate": 70,
        "avgDriveMin": 15,
        "milesPerLeg": 7,
        "costPerMile": 0.44999999999999996
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "jobsDay": 4,
        "avgJobHours": 1.25,
        "laborRate": 120,
        "avgDriveMin": 25,
        "milesPerLeg": 12,
        "costPerMile": 0.75
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "jobsDay": 6,
        "avgJobHours": 2,
        "laborRate": 190,
        "avgDriveMin": 40,
        "milesPerLeg": 19,
        "costPerMile": 1.2000000000000002
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What drive-time share should I aim for?",
      "a": "Keep drive time under 20-25% of your total working day. Above 30%, your effective hourly rate typically falls well below your posted labor rate even at $120-150/hr, because you're paying vehicle cost and losing billable time to windshield time that a fixed shop never has."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should I charge a separate trip/service call fee?",
      "a": "Yes — a flat trip fee ($25-$60 depending on market) recovers some drive cost directly rather than trying to bury it entirely in the labor rate, which keeps your labor rate looking competitive against fixed-shop pricing while still covering true cost."
    },
    {
      "q": "How much does route density actually matter?",
      "a": "Enormously. Clustering four jobs within a 5-mile radius versus spread across 25 miles can swing effective hourly by 30-40% with zero change to labor rate or job mix, purely from cutting drive hours out of the day."
    },
    {
      "q": "What vehicle cost per mile should I use?",
      "a": "IRS standard mileage rate is a reasonable default if you don't have your own cost data, but mobile mechanics often run heavier vans loaded with tools and parts, which typically run higher real operating cost than a standard passenger vehicle — track actual fuel and maintenance for 3 months to get your true number."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/detailing-package-margin",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/courtesy-vehicle-cost"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Mobile Mechanic Route Economics Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/mobile-mechanic-route-economics)"
}