How to Set Up Route Costs

Configure route costs in SmartRoutes by setting default and per‑vehicle cost per mile and hour, and optionally using those costs to optimize routes.

Caroline Hassett
Caroline Hassett
• 2 min read

Route costs let you estimate how much it costs to run each route, based on the distance travelled and the time spent on the road.

You can set default costs per mile (or kilometer) and per hour, and then override those costs for specific vehicles or drivers when they are more expensive to run.

Where to find Route Costs

  1. Go to Settings in the left-hand menu.
  2. Click Route Costs.

Step 1: Set default cost per mile and per hour

At the top of the Route Costs screen, you can set:

  • Cost per mile or kilometer: the running cost of a vehicle per unit of distance (for example fuel and maintenance).
  • Cost per hour: the hourly cost of operating the vehicle, typically including driver pay and overheads.

Top tip: These defaults apply to all vehicles unless you override them for specific ones.

Step 2: Override costs for specific vehicles

If certain vehicles are more expensive to run, you can override the default costs for those vehicles.

  1. In Route Costs, scroll to the list of vehicles.
  2. For each vehicle that should use different costs, set a custom cost per mile or kilometer (and per hour if needed).
  3. Save your changes.

This allows you to reflect the higher running cost of larger trucks or specialist vehicles, so route cost calculations stay accurate.

See route costs in the route summary

Once your costs are set, you can see the cost of a route directly in the route summary.

  1. Create and generate routes as normal.
  2. Open a route and click View Summary.
  3. In the summary, you’ll see a Route Cost value.

This value is calculated automatically from:

  • The distance of the route, using the cost per mile/km for the assigned vehicle.
  • The duration of the route, using the cost per hour you set.

If you change the assigned vehicle to one with higher per‑mile costs and re‑optimize, the route cost will increase accordingly.

Use route costs for optimization (optional)

At the top of the Route Costs screen, there is a toggle 'use route costs for optimization'.

  • When off, SmartRoutes calculates and shows the route cost but does not use it when choosing vehicles. Optimization is based on time and distance only, while cost is surfaced for reporting.
  • When on, SmartRoutes uses route cost as part of optimization and aims to choose the least expensive option when multiple vehicles are available, which can mean selecting a cheaper vehicle and driver combination.

Turn this on if you want the system to actively minimize route cost, not just show it.

Didn’t answer your question?

You can see our other guides here or contact support at support@smartroutes.io.

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