Let's talk about the elephant in the room: gas prices are eating your delivery earnings alive.
With fuel hovering around $1.50-1.80/L across Canada, many drivers are finding that a huge chunk of their earnings goes straight back into the tank. Some days it feels like you're working for Shell or Petro-Canada, not yourself.
But here's what most drivers don't realize: the problem isn't how much you drive — it's how efficiently you drive.
The Real Cost of Gas for Delivery Drivers
Let's do some quick math:
- Average delivery driver: 150-200 km per day
- Fuel efficiency: 10L/100km (average car)
- Gas price: $1.60/L
- Daily fuel cost: $24-32
- Weekly fuel cost: $120-160
- Monthly fuel cost: $500-650
If you're grossing $800/week, that's 15-20% going straight to fuel. And that's before vehicle depreciation, maintenance, and everything else.
Why Most Drivers Waste 20-40% on Unnecessary Kilometers
The Backtracking Problem
Imagine you have 30 packages to deliver. Without optimization, here's what happens:
- You deliver to the north side of town
- Then back south for another package
- Then back north again
- Repeat this chaos all day
This zigzag pattern can easily add 30-50 km of unnecessary driving per day. That's an extra $5-8 in gas — every single day.
The Multi-Platform Chaos
If you're working multiple platforms (smart move for earnings), you're dealing with:
- Amazon packages going one direction
- Intelcom stops scattered elsewhere
- Food deliveries popping up randomly
Without a system to combine these, you're driving the same streets multiple times.
How to Actually Cut Fuel Costs
Step 1: Track Your Current Waste
Before you can fix it, you need to see it.
This week:
- Note your odometer at the start and end of each day
- Count your total deliveries
- Calculate: km per delivery
Benchmark:
- Inefficient: 5+ km per delivery
- Average: 3-4 km per delivery
- Optimized: 1.5-2.5 km per delivery
Step 2: Stop Doing Routes in Order
Most apps give you deliveries in the order they were assigned — not the most efficient order.
The fix: Before you start driving, look at ALL your stops and mentally group them by area. Do all the north stops, then move south, etc.
Step 3: Use Route Optimization
This is where FlexMesh comes in.
FlexMesh lets you:
- Scan waybills from any carrier — Amazon, Intelcom, UPS, FedEx, Purolator
- Add all your stops into one list
- Optimize with one tap — AI creates the most efficient route
- Follow the optimized path — no more backtracking
Real results:
- Drivers report 20-40% reduction in total kilometers
- That's $25-65 saved per week on gas alone
- Over a year: $1,300-3,400 back in your pocket
Step 4: Combine Multi-Platform Deliveries
If you have:
- 20 Amazon packages
- 15 Intelcom stops
- 5 food deliveries
Don't do them separately. Scan everything into FlexMesh and do them in the most efficient order across all platforms.
Other Fuel-Saving Tips
Drive Smarter
- Avoid hard acceleration and braking
- Use cruise control on highways
- Keep tires properly inflated (underinflated = more fuel)
Time Your Shifts
- Avoid rush hour traffic (idling = burning gas)
- Early morning routes often have less traffic
Consider Your Vehicle
- Smaller, fuel-efficient cars save money long-term
- Hybrids can cut fuel costs by 30-50%
- Calculate: is that bigger vehicle really worth it?
The Bottom Line
Gas prices aren't going down anytime soon. But you can control how efficiently you use fuel.
The math:
| Approach | Weekly Km | Weekly Gas Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Unoptimized routes | 1,000 km | $160 |
| Optimized with FlexMesh | 650 km | $104 |
| Weekly Savings | 350 km | $56 |
That's over $2,900/year just from smarter routing.
Download FlexMesh, start optimizing your routes, and stop giving your earnings to the gas station.
Sources:
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