Every job outside your nearest areas carries a hidden cost: the paid hours spent getting there and back. In a region spread over 13 municipalities and three electoral areas, according to the Capital Regional District, that cost can quietly decide whether a job makes money. This guide shows how to measure travel cost, how to sort areas into three service tiers, and when a second base starts to make sense.
Why geography matters more here than owners expect
Greater Victoria's population is spread out, and growth has not been even. Saanich, the largest municipality, had about 117,700 residents at the 2021 census, while Langford on the West Shore had about 46,600 and Sooke about 15,100, according to Statistics Canada. The Saanich Peninsula, the West Shore and the Gulf Islands each add distance in a different direction from the core.
For a trades or home-service firm, that means a technician based in Saanich might spend 15 minutes reaching an Oak Bay job, but much longer reaching Sooke at rush hour, and far longer still for an island call that depends on ferry times. Pricing all of those jobs the same way is a decision, even if it was never made on purpose.
Step 1: Calculate the cost of one travel hour
A travel hour costs you wages, vehicle running costs and lost billable time. Work it out for one technician or crew.
Worked example for a fictional electrical contractor:
| Cost item | Per hour |
|---|---|
| Technician wage plus payroll costs | $48 |
| Vehicle running cost (fuel, wear, insurance share) | $22 |
| Gross margin lost because the hour wasn't billed | $55 |
| Total cost of one travel hour | $125 |
The third line is the one owners forget. If a technician would otherwise be on a billable job earning $55 an hour of gross margin, every hour in traffic gives that up.
Step 2: Measure travel by area
Pull two to four weeks of jobs and note the area and round-trip travel time for each. Group the jobs into the parts of the region you serve, for example:
- City of Victoria neighbourhoods
- Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and View Royal
- Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, Highlands and Sooke
- Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney
- Juan de Fuca, Salt Spring Island and the Southern Gulf Islands
Then build a small table:
| Area group | Jobs | Average job margin | Average round-trip travel | Travel cost per job | Margin after travel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core, near base | 60 | $320 | 0.4 h | $50 | $270 |
| West Shore | 22 | $340 | 1.2 h | $150 | $190 |
| Peninsula | 14 | $310 | 1.0 h | $125 | $185 |
| Islands | 3 | $600 | 4.0 h | $500 | $100 |
The figures are illustrative, but the pattern is common. Distant jobs can look similar on the invoice and very different once travel is counted.
Step 3: Sort areas into three tiers
Most businesses do well with three service tiers rather than one flat price.
- Core tier: standard pricing, any day, normal response times. Usually the areas within a short drive of your base.
- Scheduled tier: standard pricing on set days, for example West Shore Tuesdays and Thursdays, Peninsula Wednesdays. Urgent calls outside those days carry a travel charge.
- Minimum-job tier: distant or island areas served only above a minimum job size, or with a clearly stated travel fee, and booked in batches where possible.
Write the tiers down and put them on your website and in your quoting notes. Customers handle clear rules much better than surprise charges.
Step 4: Test clustering before raising prices
Grouping bookings by area often recovers more margin than a travel fee. If the West Shore jobs in the table above were clustered so a technician did three in one trip instead of three separate trips, travel per job might fall from 1.2 hours to about 0.6. At $125 an hour, that saves $75 per job, lifting margin after travel from $190 to $265, close to the core level.
Clustering needs two things: an office person who books by area, and customers willing to accept a choice of days. Test it for one quarter and compare margin after travel.
Step 5: Know when a second base pays
A second base, such as a crew that starts its day on the West Shore, pays when travel savings exceed its extra fixed cost.
Worked example: suppose the business does 22 West Shore jobs a month, each costing 1.2 hours of travel from the core. That is about 26 travel hours a month, or roughly $3,300 at $125 an hour.
If a West Shore-based technician, starting from home with a van, cuts travel on those jobs to 0.4 hours, monthly travel cost falls to about $1,100. The saving is roughly $2,200 a month. If the extra cost of supporting that base, such as a second van location or extra stock, is less than $2,200 a month, it is worth considering. If West Shore volume is growing, the case gets stronger each year.
The same reasoning applies to a retailer or café thinking about a second location in Langford or Sidney: compare the extra fixed cost with the margin from customers who would not otherwise reach you.
Step 6: Tell customers clearly
Clear service-area rules win more trust than vague "we serve all of Greater Victoria" claims. On your website and in replies, say which municipalities you serve at standard rates, which on set days, and what applies to distant areas. Name the municipalities customers actually use, such as Colwood or North Saanich, rather than a single regional label.
Common mistakes
- Pricing every area the same by default. It means near customers subsidise far ones.
- Ignoring lost billable time. Wages and fuel are only part of the cost of an hour in traffic.
- Saying yes to every distant small job. Set a minimum or a set day.
- Opening a second base on a hunch. Run the travel numbers for at least three months first.
- Hiding travel charges until the invoice. It costs reviews and repeat work.
Where to go next
Use this guide with your own job records, then decide. Our areas page describes how we think about each part of the capital region. The operations review measures travel and scheduling in detail, and the growth plan decides which areas to grow in. For a quick second opinion on your numbers, see the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge a travel fee?
It depends on your market. Some customers accept a clearly stated travel charge for distant areas; others prefer a higher minimum job size or set service days. Test one approach for a quarter and compare win rates and margins.
How do I measure travel time if my team doesn't log it?
Use your scheduling records or vehicle tracking for a sample of two to four weeks. If neither exists, ask crews to note departure and arrival times for a fortnight. That is usually enough to see the pattern.
Is the West Shore worth serving from the core?
Often yes, if bookings are clustered and prices reflect the drive. It becomes a problem when single small jobs are scattered across the week at core prices.
Does this apply to retail or food businesses?
Partly. Shops and cafés don't drive to customers, but the same reasoning applies to delivery areas, catering radius and deciding where a second location should go.