Rideshare fuel costs: tracking your real cost per kilometre

If you drive for Uber, DiDi, a delivery platform or anything else that pays per trip, fuel comes straight off your margin. Every cent per litre matters, but the number that actually tells you how you're going isn't the price on the board. It's your cost per kilometre. Here's how to get a handle on it.

Why cost per km beats cents per litre

Two drivers can pay the exact same pump price and have very different fuel costs, because one drives a thirsty car and the other sips. Cost per kilometre folds in both what you paid and how far that fuel actually took you, so it's the honest measure of what driving is costing you, and it's what you compare a good week against a bad one on.

Keep a simple logbook

Log each fill-up: litres, price, and your odometer reading. From two readings apart, an app can work out both your economy and your cost per km. WayBeacon does this automatically from your logged fills. It's also the habit the ATO's logbook method is built on if you claim car expenses, so you're keeping the records you'd need anyway.

Track earnings against your costs

Cost per km is half the picture; the other half is what you're earning. Knowing your net, takings minus fuel and running costs, tells you whether a shift was actually worth it. WayBeacon's earnings tracker sets your takings against fuel and expenses for a real monthly net, per platform.

Fill on the dips

Because petrol moves in a cycle in most capital cities, when you fill matters as much as where. Keep an eye on the trend and brim the tank when it's near the bottom rather than the day after a spike, over a full-time week of driving, that timing adds up.

Keep records for tax time

Hold onto your fuel and expense records through the year rather than scrambling at the end. What you can claim depends on your circumstances. This is general information, not tax advice, so check with a registered tax agent, but you can only claim what you've actually recorded.