Calculating Fuel Costs with Streets and Trips

By Chris and Jim Guld
Geeks on Tour
We have plans this summer to travel 10,758 miles. That will cost us approximately $4,707 in gas cost if gas prices are $3.50/gal.  If the price goes up to $4, make that total $5,288.

First Plan your Route

How do I figure this?  By using the Route Options feature of my Streets and Trips program.  Our summer travels are dictated first by the Rallies where we will be presenting our computer seminars.  I add them all as Stops on our route using Streets and Trips Route planner.  Then I add a few of our ‘must-visit’ places in between.  The software plots the course based on these stops.

Then Set your Options

Whenever directions are given, they include a summary:

Of course, it needs a fuel price in order to calculate this.  You enter that in the Route Options, under the Route menu.  This is also where you enter your average miles per gallon for city (7mpg for us) and highway (8mpg) driving.  So, it’s a simple matter to get the calculation for several different fuel prices.

Try Changing your Route

Let’s say we decide this is just too expensive, how much would we save by not going out west this summer?  All I need to do is to delete the route stops out west and get directions again.  This only takes a few clicks and  I now have a new summary:

Other Calculators

If you don’t have Streets and Trips, or you just want a quick estimate without planning your exact route, there are plenty of calculators on the web.

1. www.travelmath.com/fuel-cost/: You just enter distance, your mpg, and your fuel grade (including diesel) and this calculates the cost both in gallons and dollars and in litres and Euros.
2. www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx: For this one, you enter your basic route, your mpg, and your tank size.  It not only calculates the total, but gives you actual gas stations along your route with the best prices!
3. www.roadtripamerica.com/fuel-cost-calculator.php:  This is the simplest calculator I’ve seen.  You just enter the distance, mpg, and average fuel price.  It calculates your totals and your average cost per mile.

For more instruction on Streets and Trips Route Options, watch this sample video from Geeks on Tour:

This tip by Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour

Geeks on Tour is a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on computer topics of interest to travelers, such as managing digital photos with Picasa, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger.