How to compare the full cost of a UK commute

Business & Money Desk 2026-10-11 08:45 Updated: 09:39 5 min read

A Thameslink commuter train pulling into a station in the United Kingdom.

The cost of driving to work depends on more than the price shown at the pump. Use your own weekly mileage, your car’s fuel economy and a current local price to estimate fuel spending, then add parking, tolls and other journey costs before comparing driving with public transport or a different route.

Find a current local petrol or diesel price

Fuel prices can vary between nearby stations and change over time. Before calculating, check a price for the fuel your vehicle uses and note the station and date. A price you saw earlier, or a national figure from an older report, may not reflect what you would pay today.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes monthly UK road fuel price statistics. These provide national context, but they are not a live list of local forecourt prices. For a commute estimate, use a dated local price that you can actually access, such as a station’s current listing or a fuel-price service. If you cannot confirm when a figure was updated, treat it as an estimate and check the pump price before relying on it.

Calculate weekly fuel use from your commute

Start with the miles you drive in a typical working week. Include the return journey and any regular work-related detours. If you commute on different days or alternate routes, use a representative week rather than one unusually short or long week.

For a vehicle rated in miles per gallon (mpg), estimate litres used with this formula:

Weekly miles ÷ miles per gallon × litres per gallon × price per litre

Use 4.546 litres per UK gallon. Check whether your car’s figure is in UK mpg; US mpg uses a different gallon and will give a misleading result if treated as UK mpg. Published fuel economy is a guide: traffic, speed, weather, load, tyre condition and driving style can change real-world consumption.

How to compare the full cost of a UK commute

If you have a reliable record of actual fuel use, use it to refine the estimate. For example, compare distance driven with litres bought over several weeks, while remembering that a refill may not exactly match the fuel used during that period.

Worked example: a 200-mile weekly commute

Assumptions: 200 miles of commuting each week, a car achieving 40 UK mpg in real-world use, 4.546 litres per UK gallon and an illustrative local price of £1.50 per litre. The fuel price is an example only, not a current UK price.

Litres used: 200 ÷ 40 × 4.546 = about 22.7 litres.
Estimated weekly fuel cost: 22.7 × £1.50 = about £34.05.
Estimated cost over 48 commuting weeks: about £1,634.40, before other journey costs.

Replace the example price and fuel economy with figures that match your route, vehicle and a dated local listing. If the car achieves 32 mpg instead of 40 mpg, the same weekly mileage uses more fuel, even at the same pump price. Likewise, a small price difference per litre may matter less than a large difference in distance or efficiency.

Add parking, tolls and the rest of the journey

A pump-price comparison alone can favour the wrong route. Add costs you would pay because of the commute, then compare the totals over the same number of days or weeks.

Consider including:

Parking: daily or weekly charges, workplace permits and fees at park-and-ride sites.
Tolls and road charges: regular tolls and any applicable clean-air or other road-user charges.
Public transport connections: bus, train or tram fares, plus any parking or local travel needed to reach a station.
Car-sharing costs: the amount passengers contribute, if that reliably reduces what you pay.
Extra mileage: detours to cheaper fuel stations, which consume fuel and take time.

Vehicle costs such as insurance, vehicle tax, servicing and depreciation also matter when comparing the overall cost of owning and using a car with another option. They may not change with one individual commute, so decide whether you are comparing the extra cost of this journey or the full cost of having a car available. Keep that basis consistent across the comparison.

Compare driving with public transport fairly

For each option, calculate the cost for the same days and journey. A weekly travel pass may be cheaper than buying individual tickets, while a single ticket could suit someone who commutes only occasionally. Check whether fares, parking and work schedules make the alternative practical, not just cheaper on paper.

You can compare the results in a simple list:

Driving: fuel + parking + tolls or charges.
Public transport: fares + station access or parking.
Car sharing: your fuel contribution + any parking or charges you still pay.

A cheaper pump price does not necessarily mean a lower total journey cost. A longer detour can use up the saving, and a more efficient car may cost less to run despite filling up at a pricier station. Recalculate when your route, weekly mileage, vehicle or local price changes.

Where to check UK fuel prices

Use the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s monthly road fuel statistics for national context. To estimate what your commute will cost, pair that background with a current local price for the correct fuel and note its date. Recheck the station listing or price service before using the figure, especially if you are comparing stations or planning a regular budget.

Then enter your weekly miles, real-world UK mpg and dated price per litre into the formula. The result is a fuel estimate; adding the other journey costs gives you a more useful comparison of your commute options.

Source: UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Context & actions About this article

Source check How the estimate works

The fuel estimate uses weekly mileage, UK miles per gallon and a local price per litre; the example price is illustrative.

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