NEMT deadhead cost calculator: what empty miles cost you
Deadhead cost is what you spend driving with no rider aboard: the vehicle's cost per mile plus the driver's paid time. Medicaid programs generally pay only for loaded miles, so empty miles earn nothing. Enter your daily empty miles, cost per mile, driver cost per hour, and average speed to see the monthly and yearly cost and what cutting them saves.
On this page
The numbers filled in are examples, not averages. Replace each one with your own quotes, rates, and costs.
Cost of empty miles
Example numbersYearly cost of empty miles
$38,544
$3,212 a month over 22 working days.
- Yearly savings with a 20% cut
- $7,709
- Monthly savings
- $642
One working day
- Vehicle cost120 miles at $0.55
- $66.00
- Driver time4 hours at $20.00
- $80.00
- Daily cost
- $146.00
Each month
- Empty miles
- 2,640
- Driver hours on empty miles
- 88
- All-in cost per empty mile
- $1.22
How to use the deadhead cost calculator
Enter the numbers for your whole fleet on a typical working day. Every field starts with an example value, so replace each one with your own. The results update as you type.
- Enter your empty miles per day across all vehicles and your working days per month.
- Enter the vehicle cost per mile, leaving out the driver.
- Enter the driver cost per hour and the average speed on empty miles.
- Enter the share of empty miles you want to cut.
- Read the yearly and monthly cost, then the savings from your target.
What each input means and where to find your number
| Input | What it is | Where to find your number |
|---|---|---|
| Empty miles per day, whole fleet | Miles with no rider aboard: base to first pickup, drop-off to next pickup, and back to base | Total miles from odometers or GPS, minus the loaded miles on your trip logs |
| Working days per month | Days your vehicles run trips | Your schedule |
| Vehicle cost per mile | Fuel, maintenance, tires, and wear | Last year’s fuel and repair bills divided by miles driven |
| Driver cost per hour | Hourly wage plus payroll taxes and benefits | Your payroll records |
| Average speed on empty miles | How fast vehicles cover those miles, stops and traffic included | Empty miles divided by the hours spent driving them |
| Cut empty miles by | The share of empty miles you plan to remove | Your goal |
The glossary explains the difference between deadhead miles and loaded miles in more detail. To track progress over time, divide empty miles by total miles driven. That is your deadhead percentage.
For the vehicle cost, count only costs that rise with each mile. The IRS standard mileage rate for business use is 76 cents a mile from July 1, 2026, up from 72.5 cents in the first half of the year. The IRS bases that rate on the fixed and variable costs of operating a car, so it includes costs that do not change with miles. Use it as an outside reference, not as your number.
For the driver, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for shuttle drivers and chauffeurs at $17.93 an hour for May 2025. Employers add 7.65% of wages for Social Security and Medicare.
How to read the result
The headline is the yearly cost of empty miles. Under it are the monthly figure and the savings at your target cut.
The daily breakdown splits the cost in two:
- Vehicle cost is empty miles times your cost per mile.
- Driver time is empty miles divided by average speed, times the driver’s hourly cost.
The monthly lines show how many empty miles you drive, how many paid driver hours go to them, and the all-in cost per empty mile. That last number is the one to remember. It is the vehicle cost plus the driver’s cost for the time one mile takes.
Empty miles matter in NEMT because they rarely pay. North Dakota Medicaid, for example, states that unloaded miles are not a covered service and pays only for miles traveled with the member in the vehicle. Every empty mile is pure cost against the loaded miles that do pay.
Worked example
These are the calculator’s example numbers, not industry figures. A fleet drives 120 empty miles a day, 22 days a month. The vehicle cost is $0.55 a mile, drivers cost $20 an hour, and empty miles average 30 miles per hour.
- Vehicle cost: 120 miles at $0.55 is $66 a day.
- Driver time: 120 miles at 30 miles per hour is 4 hours. At $20 an hour, that is $80 a day.
- Daily cost: $146. Monthly: $3,212. Yearly: $38,544.
- All-in cost per empty mile: about $1.22.
The fleet spends 88 paid driver hours a month on empty miles. Cutting empty miles by 20% saves about $642 a month, or $7,709 a year.
Ways to cut empty miles
- Group trips by area and time so each pickup is close to the last drop-off.
- Plan the whole day at once rather than assigning trips one at a time as they come in.
- Hold room for returns. Will-call trips with no set pickup time are easier to fit when a nearby vehicle has space.
- Start routes near the first pickup when drivers can begin from home or a second lot.
- Re-plan after cancellations. A canceled trip leaves a gap that a nearby pickup can fill, instead of a driver heading back to base empty.
- Measure it every week. Compare empty miles to total miles each week, so you know which change moved the number.
Our guides to reducing NEMT deadhead miles and NEMT route optimization cover each tactic in depth.
Planning the day in one click
Ryder Go, HealthRide’s route optimizer, plans and assigns the whole day in one click, with tighter routes and fewer empty miles. Run this calculator with your current empty miles, then again after a few weeks on optimized schedules, to put a dollar figure on the change. See how Ryder Go works.
Frequently asked questions
- What are deadhead miles in NEMT?
- Deadhead miles are miles driven with no rider in the vehicle: from base to the first pickup, from a drop-off to the next pickup, and back to base at the end of the day. Medicaid programs generally pay only for loaded miles, so deadhead miles are a cost with no revenue attached.
- Can I bill for deadhead miles?
- Rarely on Medicaid and broker trips. North Dakota Medicaid, for example, covers unloaded miles only when the department approves them in advance. For private pay you set the rules, and some providers add a pickup fee or a minimum fare for long empty drives.
- What cost per mile should I use?
- Use the costs that rise with each mile: fuel, maintenance, tires, and wear. Divide last year's fuel and repair bills by the miles driven. The IRS business rate of 76 cents a mile, in effect from July 1, 2026, is built on the fixed and variable costs of running a car, so treat it as an outside reference rather than your number.
- How do I work out my deadhead percentage?
- Divide empty miles by total miles driven over the same period, then multiply by 100. For example, a fleet that drove 3,000 miles last week, 900 of them empty, ran 30% deadhead. Work out the same figure every week so you can see whether routing changes are working.
- Why does the calculator include driver time?
- Because you pay drivers while they drive empty. For hourly drivers, an hour spent on empty miles costs the same as an hour carrying a rider, and it is an hour that could have carried one. The calculator divides empty miles by average speed to find those hours.
