# Commute Cost Calculator

> Computes the yearly distance, fuel volume and cost, maintenance, parking and toll cost of a car commute from the one-way distance, commuting days and weeks, fuel consumption and prices, then gives the cost per day, week, month and kilometre, the hours spent driving and a comparison with a public-transport fare.

- Calculator id: `commute-cost` · Category: Everyday Life (`everyday`) · Tool name: `calculate_commute_cost`
- Canonical page: https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/commute-cost · This document: https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/commute-cost.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/commute-cost.json

## Purpose

Computes the yearly distance, fuel volume and cost, maintenance, parking and toll cost of a car commute from the one-way distance, commuting days and weeks, fuel consumption and prices, then gives the cost per day, week, month and kilometre, the hours spent driving and a comparison with a public-transport fare.

**Use when:** You want the yearly, monthly or per-day cost of commuting by car, the cost per kilometre, or a comparison with a season ticket or daily fare.

**Do not use when:** You need the fuel cost of a single trip (use fuel-cost), full ownership cost including depreciation, insurance and financing (add those separately), or CO₂ emissions (use carbon-footprint-driving).

## Input

| Parameter | Type | Unit | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `one_way_distance_km` | number | km | required | Distance from home to work, one way. (> 0, max 1000) |
| `days_per_week` | number | days | optional, default 5 | Days per week you drive to work (e.g. 3 for a hybrid schedule). (> 0, max 7) |
| `weeks_per_year` | number | weeks | optional, default 48 | Weeks per year you commute (52 minus holidays and leave). (> 0, max 52) |
| `fuel_consumption_l_per_100km` | number | L/100 km | optional, default 7 | Average consumption in litres per 100 km (for an EV enter kWh/100 km here and the price per kWh as the fuel price). (> 0, max 50) |
| `fuel_price_per_liter` | number | per L | required | Price per litre of fuel (or per kWh for an EV), in your currency. (min 0, max 100) |
| `maintenance_cost_per_km` | number | per km | optional, default 0.05 | Wear cost per km; AAA's 2023 Your Driving Costs puts maintenance, repair and tyres near 10 US cents per mile (≈ 0.06 per km) for a new car. (min 0, max 10) |
| `parking_per_day` | number |  | optional, default 0 | Parking cost per commuting day. (min 0, max 1000) |
| `tolls_per_day` | number |  | optional, default 0 | Road tolls or congestion charges per commuting day, both directions. (min 0, max 1000) |
| `average_speed_km_h` | number | km/h | optional | Average door-to-door speed, to estimate the time spent commuting. (> 0, max 200) |
| `public_transport_per_day` | number |  | optional | Return fare per commuting day (or a season ticket divided by commuting days) for comparison. (min 0, max 1000) |

## Output

| Field | Type | Unit | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `annual_distance_km` | number | km | 2 × one_way_distance_km × days_per_week × weeks_per_year. |
| `commuting_days_per_year` | number | days | days_per_week × weeks_per_year. |
| `fuel_liters_per_year` | number | L | annual_distance_km × fuel_consumption_l_per_100km / 100. |
| `fuel_cost_per_year` | number |  | fuel_liters_per_year × fuel_price_per_liter. |
| `maintenance_per_year` | number |  | annual_distance_km × maintenance_cost_per_km. |
| `parking_tolls_per_year` | number |  | (parking_per_day + tolls_per_day) × commuting days. |
| `total_annual_cost` | number |  | Fuel + maintenance + parking and tolls. |
| `cost_per_day` | number |  | total_annual_cost / commuting days. |
| `cost_per_week` | number |  | total_annual_cost / weeks_per_year. |
| `cost_per_month` | number |  | total_annual_cost / 12. |
| `cost_per_km` | number |  | total_annual_cost / annual_distance_km. |
| `hours_per_year` | number | h | annual_distance_km / average_speed_km_h (when a speed is given). |
| `minutes_per_day` | number | min | Round-trip driving time per commuting day (when a speed is given). |
| `public_transport_annual_cost` | number |  | public_transport_per_day × commuting days (when given). |
| `annual_difference` | number |  | total_annual_cost − public_transport_annual_cost; positive means the car costs more (when given). |

## Formula

`annual_distance_km = 2 × one_way_distance_km × days_per_week × weeks_per_year; fuel_liters = annual_distance_km × consumption / 100; fuel_cost = fuel_liters × price; maintenance = annual_distance_km × maintenance_cost_per_km; parking_tolls = (parking_per_day + tolls_per_day) × days_per_week × weeks_per_year; total = fuel_cost + maintenance + parking_tolls; cost_per_day = total / commuting days; cost_per_month = total / 12; cost_per_km = total / annual_distance_km; hours_per_year = annual_distance_km / average_speed_km_h; annual_difference = total − public_transport_per_day × commuting days`

Only variable, distance-dependent costs and daily fees are counted; depreciation, insurance, tax and financing continue whether or not the car is used for commuting and are excluded (AAA's Your Driving Costs 2023 puts total ownership near 0.80 US$ per mile for a new car driven 15,000 miles a year). Fuel consumption should be the real-world commuting figure, which is typically 10–20 % above the type-approval value.

## Data Sources

- AAA – Your Driving Costs (annual study of per-mile ownership and operating costs) — https://exchange.aaa.com/automotive/aaas-your-driving-costs/ (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Commuting (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commuting (reference, retrieved 2026-09-24)

Data freshness: `static`. Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output.

## API

- `GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/commute-cost?one_way_distance_km=…&fuel_price_per_liter=…`
- `POST https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/commute-cost` with JSON body `{"inputs": {…}}`
- Response: unified envelope (`success`, `request`, `result.values`, `result.units`, `sources`, `freshness`, `timestamp`, `next_actions`, `links`); see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/response-format.md
- Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/commute-cost · OpenAPI operationId `calculate_commute_cost` in https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json
- Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use, see https://tttkmbb.com/docs/rate-limits.md.

## MCP

- Server: `https://tttkmbb.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0, no auth)
- Tool:  `run_calculator` with `{"calculator_id": "commute-cost", "inputs": {…}}`

## Example

- 20 km each way, 5 days, 48 weeks, 7 L/100 km at 1.80: inputs `{"one_way_distance_km":20,"days_per_week":5,"weeks_per_year":48,"fuel_consumption_l_per_100km":7,"fuel_price_per_liter":1.8,"maintenance_cost_per_km":0.05}` → `{"annual_distance_km":9600,"fuel_liters_per_year":672,"fuel_cost_per_year":1209.6,"maintenance_per_year":480,"parking_tolls_per_year":0,"total_annual_cost":1689.6,"cost_per_day":7.04,"cost_per_week":35.2,"cost_per_month":140.8,"cost_per_km":0.176}`
- Same commute with 8 parking + 2 tolls per day, 40 km/h, transit 6 per day: inputs `{"one_way_distance_km":20,"fuel_price_per_liter":1.8,"parking_per_day":8,"tolls_per_day":2,"average_speed_km_h":40,"public_transport_per_day":6}` → `{"parking_tolls_per_year":2400,"total_annual_cost":4089.6,"cost_per_day":17.04,"hours_per_year":240,"minutes_per_day":60,"public_transport_annual_cost":1440,"annual_difference":2649.6}`

```
GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/commute-cost?one_way_distance_km=20&days_per_week=5&weeks_per_year=48&fuel_consumption_l_per_100km=7&fuel_price_per_liter=1.8&maintenance_cost_per_km=0.05
```

## Limitations

You need the fuel cost of a single trip (use fuel-cost), full ownership cost including depreciation, insurance and financing (add those separately), or CO₂ emissions (use carbon-footprint-driving). Only variable, distance-dependent costs and daily fees are counted; depreciation, insurance, tax and financing continue whether or not the car is used for commuting and are excluded (AAA's Your Driving Costs 2023 puts total ownership near 0.80 US$ per mile for a new car driven 15,000 miles a year). Fuel consumption should be the real-world commuting figure, which is typically 10–20 % above the type-approval value. All values are computed from the formula above; no measurement or live data is involved.

## FAQ

**Should I include depreciation and insurance?**

Not here: they are fixed costs of owning the car. Include them only if giving up the car entirely is the alternative; AAA's figures for a new car put them at more than half of the total cost per mile.

**How do I use this for an electric car?**

Enter the consumption in kWh per 100 km as fuel_consumption_l_per_100km and the electricity price per kWh as fuel_price_per_liter; the litre labels then read as kWh.

**What maintenance cost per km is realistic?**

AAA's 2023 study averages about 10 US cents per mile (≈ 0.06 per km) for maintenance, repairs and tyres on a new car; older cars or premium brands can be double that.

## Related

- [Fuel Cost Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/fuel-cost.md) — Fuel cost of a single trip.
- [Driving Carbon Footprint Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/weather/carbon-footprint-driving.md) — CO₂ emissions of the same annual distance.
- [Electricity Cost Calculator](https://tttkmbb.com/everyday/electricity-cost.md) — Cost of charging an EV at home.