RADU:
In 1975 when I sat down to figure out as best I could what it was costing for me to operate the vehicles used in the business. A four-wheel drive unit, figuring in the costs of gas, insurance, repairs and general maintenance, tires and replacement costs calculated out to be 0.75 cents per hour. If I remember right, the government rate was 0.15 to 0.20 cents per mile. Way low! A new vehicle, pickup was about $5000, and a suburban was around $6500. Gas was 0.35 or 0.40 cents a gallon in this time period. My fee for charge out for these vehicles was 0.50 cents per mile and $1.00 per hour, which also included the driving time to and from the job. Crew charge out was the same whether they were driving to the job site as what it was when they were actually working on site. The crew costs were the same whether they were en route or actually on site performing their task. When I closed down the business in 1987, the mileage rate was 0.75 cents per hour and $2.00 per hour. A new vehicle in 1981 was, a pickup $11,500 and a suburban was $13,500. Gas was around 0.40 to 0.50 a gallon then.
Now a new vehicle costs 10 to 15 times more than what they were during the time period I was in business. An hourly fee for a vehicle charge would be $5.00 to $7.50 per hour and an hourly charge would be $20.00 to $30.00 per hour due to the increased costs to operate and replace any vehicle.
Thanks all for input . whether vehicle cost it is included in an hourly rate charge that operating cost rate must still determined. As I originally said you may drive 2 miles for the day and a days surveying or 200 miles for two hours surveying.
RADU
Seriously far more
" Is that to say expert testimony costs more than expert research or expert field procedures?"
Of course! Ever see what folks like Walt Robillard or Jeff Lucas get? SERIOUSLY more!!
Seriously far more
> " Is that to say expert testimony costs more than expert research or expert field procedures?"
>
> Of course! Ever see what folks like Walt Robillard or Jeff Lucas get? SERIOUSLY more!!
Well, in virtually all of the cases on which I've consulted as an expert, the few hours in depositions and in court were less than 5% of the total time spent in research, investigations, mapping, and preparation. If a surveyor were trying to just jet in and testify and jet out, yeah, the economics would be much different.
In the real world, the sorts of problems that surveyors deal with tend to be unusual and fact-specific. That means: "time-intensive to unravel and answer well." Any problem that can solved by a jetpack expect in my experience isn't much of a probem to begin with.
In fact, I wouldn't want to work with anyone who didn't expect me to get my hands dirty sorting through the problem that they are dealing with.