# What's a fair price for transporting 50-60 eighth graders from Durango Colorado to Canyon De Chelly **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692 "2015-04-03T06:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/1 "2015-04-03T06:11:12Z")
It’s about 200 miles each way and my two drivers will need to overnight. What’s a fair price for the whole thing? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/2 "2015-04-03T06:34:11Z")
Are you shipping them UPS? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/3 "2015-04-03T06:46:26Z")
No, in a school bus and a fifteen passenger van. We’re planning to convoy with their gear, so that they can camp at Canyon De Chelly. I’m tasked with driving all the kids there in the bus and the van. The Van seats fifteen, plus the driver and the Bus seats around thirty. It’s a bit less than 400 miles round trip, plus the overnight for two drivers. What’s a fair price? ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/4 "2015-04-03T06:48:03Z")
there was a thread similar to this about what to pay someone if you wanted to have them drive a car across country. it took into account hotel expenses and time “off the clock” but still away from home… in this case their is probably also the “aggravation” factor of dealing with a bus full of preteens. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/5 "2015-04-03T10:44:36Z")
Plus you want to pay the drivers enough to encourage them to want to go again. I’ve been on board, supervising, buses full of teenagers and always made sure the driver’s happy and the passengers aren’t ‘enjoying themselves’ too much. Something that always seemed to work was telling them, at the start, that if a passing Police car spotted any out of their seats, we’d be pulled over and arrested. That and regular pit stops kept them and the drivers pretty content. Sorry, no idea how much they were paid as we hired the coaches and drivers as a package deal. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/6 "2015-04-03T11:36:16Z")
10 hours of driving x 2. Hourly wage plus company markup. Say $500 @ $20 per hour All hours over night x 2. Time plus company markup. $700 Per diem x 2 $100 Mileage of at least .55 cents per mile x 2, plus markup. $250 Lodging x 2 plus markup. $200 $1750. Tell me if I’m close. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/7 "2015-04-03T11:40:42Z")
Or call up a bus company, ask what they’d charge and add 20% for your pain and suffering ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/8 "2015-04-03T12:22:59Z")
You couldn’t pay me enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/9 "2015-04-03T13:04:01Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > The Van seats fifteen, plus the driver and the Bus seats around thirty. You’re going to need a bigger bus. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/10 "2015-04-03T14:13:22Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > You’re going to need a bigger bus. Yeah, I too noticed that 15 + 30 \< 50 or 60. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/11 "2015-04-03T14:22:24Z")
^Especially with camping gear. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/12 "2015-04-03T14:31:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are you shipping them UPS? UPS won’t ship live animals. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/13 "2015-04-03T14:31:42Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > 10 hours of driving x 2. Hourly wage plus company markup. Say $500 @ $20 per hour > All hours over night x 2. Time plus company markup. $700 > Per diem x 2 $100 > Mileage of at least .55 cents per mile x 2, plus markup. $250 > Lodging x 2 plus markup. $200 > > $1750. > > Tell me if I’m close. loosk like a god way to calculate it, but I think the federal 0.55c per mile is for cars, a bus and van are going to be a bit higher for fuel consumption and wear and tear and depreciation, but there is no federal standard as far as I know. . Are you renting the school bus? any idea of fuel consumption? I guess you would have to mark up that by tax etc ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/14 "2015-04-03T14:37:43Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > 10 hours of driving x 2. Hourly wage plus company markup. Say $500 @ $20 per hour > All hours over night x 2. Time plus company markup. $700 > Per diem x 2 $100 > Mileage of at least .55 cents per mile x 2, plus markup. $250 > Lodging x 2 plus markup. $200 > > $1750. > > Tell me if I’m close. > [@](#): > > 10 hours of driving x 2. Hourly wage plus company markup. Say $500 @ $20 per hour > All hours over night x 2. Time plus company markup. $700 Is this paying the drivers 24/7 while they’re away on the trip? I think IBM used to do that, but they don’t any more. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/15 "2015-04-03T15:33:18Z")
**Moderator Action** While you may be able to find some standard pay charts or data that can be cited for this type of thing, I think ultimately, what’s fair comes down to a matter of opinion. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/16 "2015-04-03T15:57:39Z")
400 mile round trip for 60 people with 2 drivers and overnight? I’d charge $ 40 per person and that’s good deal for them. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/17 "2015-04-03T16:42:15Z")
[This trip calculator came up with 4 thousand dollars and change,](http://charterbusquote.org/), based on 60 passengers round trip, pick up one day at 6 am, return the next day at 8 pm, between Durango, CO and Chinle, AZ. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/18 "2015-04-03T17:05:19Z")
I notice you never use the word “safely”. If that is not a consideration, I’ll beat your lowest quote. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-price-for-transporting-50-60-eighth-graders-from-durango-colorado-to-canyon-de-chelly/716692/19 "2015-04-03T19:21:45Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > 10 hours of driving x 2. Hourly wage plus company markup. Say $500 @ $20 per hour > All hours over night x 2. Time plus company markup. $700 > Per diem x 2 $100 > Mileage of at least .55 cents per mile x 2, plus markup. $250 > Lodging x 2 plus markup. $200 > > $1750. > > Tell me if I’m close. You’re at least in the ballpark. I own both vehicles, for what it’s worth. Whatever kids we can’t fit into the bus and the van will be traveling in other cars, as well as the gear, also this is round trip.