Which formula gives the surcharge for one trip?

Subtract the base price from the current price, count only whole steps if your clause uses them, and divide by your miles per gallon. That is the extra fuel cost of one mile. Multiply it by every mile the trip drives, loaded and empty, for the surcharge per trip. With $0.50 counted, 15 mpg, and 16 miles, it is $0.50 divided by 15, times 16, or $0.53.

Which current price should I enter?

The latest weekly figure from the index your agreement names, for the same fuel and the same region every week. EIA publishes regular gasoline for the U.S., nine regions, nine states, and ten cities, and on-highway diesel for the U.S., the same nine regions, and California. It collects gasoline prices on Mondays at 8:00 a.m. local time, so the clause should say which Monday counts.

What step size should I use?

Smaller steps recover more and change more often. With the example numbers, a 25-cent step leaves $0.11 a trip of the price rise with you, and a 5-cent step leaves nothing at that price. One public example pairs small steps with a slow reset: a Chicago Public Schools paratransit renewal effective September 1, 2022 moved its rate 0.2 cents a mile for every 5 cents of price change, adjusted quarterly. Pick the step your customers can follow on an invoice.

Can I use the calculator for a diesel van?

Yes. Enter the on-highway diesel price from EIA and the diesel van's own miles per gallon. For the week of October 5, 2026, EIA lists on-highway diesel at $6.199 a gallon nationally, against $4.354 for regular gasoline, so the base price and the index must both be diesel. Mixing a gasoline base with a diesel index overstates the surcharge.

Why does the calculator count empty miles?

The van burns fuel on the way to the pickup and back from the drop-off, and the rider only pays for the loaded miles. The surcharge per trip covers all the miles driven, and the per-loaded-mile figure spreads that money over the miles on the rate sheet. Take both mile counts from your trip records, not a guess.

NEMT fuel surcharge calculator: a per-trip add-on tied to the weekly fuel price

Updated October 6, 20264 min read

Overview

A fuel surcharge covers the extra fuel a trip burns when the weekly price runs above the price built into your rate. Take the price above your base, divide by the van's miles per gallon, and multiply by every mile the trip drives, loaded and empty. With a $3.75 base, a $4.35 price, 15 mpg, 16 miles a trip, and a 25-cent step, the surcharge is $0.53 a trip.

On this page

The numbers filled in are examples, not averages. Replace each one with your own quotes, rates, and costs.

The fuel priceBoth prices are dollars per gallon, with taxes, for the same fuel and region.

Base price in your rates

The fuel price your current rates or contract already assume.

Current price

This week's number from the index you named in the agreement.

Step size

The price move that changes the surcharge. Enter 0 to count every cent.

Your vans and tripsAverages across the trips the surcharge will cover.

Miles per gallon

Miles between fill-ups divided by the gallons you bought.

Loaded miles per trip

Miles with a rider aboard.

Empty miles per trip

Miles to the pickup and back from the drop-off.

Fuel surcharge

Example numbers

Surcharge per trip

$0.53

4.4 cents for each loaded mile.

Surcharge starts: At $4.00
Steps counted: 2

Behind the number

Price above the base2 steps of $0.25 count: $0.60
Extra fuel for each mile driven$0.50 divided by 15 mpg: 3.3 cents
Fuel for one trip at the base price16 miles driven: $4.00
Fuel for one trip at the current price: $4.64
Left with you between stepsPer trip: $0.11

Steps leave $0.11 a trip of this price rise with you. A smaller step recovers more of it.

How to use the fuel surcharge calculator

Enter the fuel price your rates already assume, this week’s price from the index in your agreement, your vans’ miles per gallon, and the miles on an average trip. The calculator returns the surcharge for one trip, the same money in cents per loaded mile, and the price at which the surcharge starts. For where a surcharge is allowed and how to write the clause, read adding a fuel surcharge to NEMT rates. The fields open with example numbers, so type over each one.

Enter the base price: the fuel price per gallon your current rates were built on.
Enter the current price from your index, for the same fuel and region.
Enter the step size, or 0 to count every cent of the rise.
Enter your vans’ miles per gallon and the loaded and empty miles on an average trip.
Read the surcharge per trip and per loaded mile.

Where each number comes from

Five of the six numbers come from your own contract and records, and the current price comes from a public index.

Base price. The price per gallon already inside your rates. If the agreement states one, use it. If not, use the index price from the week you last set the rates.
Current price. The weekly figure from the index you named. EIA publishes regular gasoline prices for the U.S., nine regions, nine states, and ten cities, and on-highway diesel prices for the U.S., the same nine regions, and California. For the week of October 5, 2026, regular gasoline averaged $4.354 nationally, $3.911 on the Gulf Coast, $4.109 in the Midwest, and $5.727 on the West Coast. The gasoline survey records pump prices as of 8:00 a.m. local time on Monday, and the figures post on Tuesday morning, or Wednesday when a government holiday falls on the Monday.
Step size. The price move that changes the surcharge by one step. Use 0 to see the surcharge without any rounding down.
Miles per gallon. Miles between fill-ups divided by the gallons you bought, for the vans the surcharge will cover.
Loaded and empty miles per trip. From your trip records. A trip’s surcharge covers every mile the van drove for it, including the drive to the pickup and back from the drop-off.

EIA states that it does not calculate, assess, or regulate diesel fuel surcharges. They are negotiated privately, and many shippers, transportation companies, and truckers use its weekly retail diesel prices in their formulas, so the formula lives in your contract.

Worked example

The default inputs are examples. A facility agreement assumes a $3.75 gallon, and the surcharge moves in 25-cent steps. This week’s price is $4.35, which is close to EIA’s U.S. regular gasoline average for the week of October 5, 2026. The vans get 15 miles per gallon, and an average trip drives 12 loaded miles and 4 empty miles.

Step	Math	Result
Price above the base	$4.35 - $3.75	$0.60
Steps counted	$0.60 in whole 25-cent steps	2 steps, $0.50
Extra fuel for each mile driven	$0.50 ÷ 15 mpg	3.3 cents
Surcharge per trip	3.33 cents × 16 miles	$0.53
Surcharge per loaded mile	$0.53 ÷ 12 miles	4.4 cents
Left with you between steps	$0.10 ÷ 15 mpg × 16 miles	$0.11 a trip
Price at which the surcharge starts	$3.75 + $0.25	$4.00

Change the step to 5 cents and every cent of the $0.60 rise counts in twelve steps: $0.64 a trip, 5.3 cents per loaded mile, and nothing left with you. The price of a smaller step is a surcharge that changes more often.

Checking a clause someone else wrote

A per-mile clause fits your vans only if its scale matches their miles per gallon, and you can test that in a minute. The paratransit agreement Chicago Public Schools renewed with one carrier for the year starting September 1, 2022 adjusted its fuel surcharge quarterly from the Midwest (PADD 2) regional report of the Oil Price Information Service, with the board supplying the quarter’s price. For every 5 cents the index rose or fell, the surcharge moved 0.2 cents a mile in the same direction. That contract carried student paratransit, not Medicaid rides, and is a public example of how such a scale reads.

Work out what that scale assumes. Five cents moving the rate by 0.2 cents is 4 cents a mile for every dollar of price change, the fuel cost of one mile in a van that gets 25 miles per gallon. A van at 15 miles per gallon burns 6.7 cents of fuel per mile for the same dollar, so a scale like this covers about 60 percent of it, and less if the surcharge is paid only on loaded miles, since the empty miles burn fuel too. To read your own number, set the current price $1.00 above the base with no step, and look at the extra fuel for each mile driven.

Prices you do not set

A surcharge belongs on prices you set, such as private-pay riders and facility agreements. Medicaid and broker trips pay the payer’s rate, and the fuel surcharge guide explains each case. Reducing NEMT fuel costs covers the other half of the problem, burning fewer gallons.

Using your own trip records

Loaded miles are the easiest number to get wrong by guessing. Each finished trip in HealthRide carries its GPS-verified miles, and the trip log downloads as a spreadsheet or PDF, so the loaded miles you enter can come from your own records. See reports. The deadhead cost calculator prices the empty miles, and the cost per mile calculator turns fuel and upkeep into a cost for every mile.

Frequently asked questions

Which formula gives the surcharge for one trip?: Subtract the base price from the current price, count only whole steps if your clause uses them, and divide by your miles per gallon. That is the extra fuel cost of one mile. Multiply it by every mile the trip drives, loaded and empty, for the surcharge per trip. With $0.50 counted, 15 mpg, and 16 miles, it is $0.50 divided by 15, times 16, or $0.53.
Which current price should I enter?: The latest weekly figure from the index your agreement names, for the same fuel and the same region every week. EIA publishes regular gasoline for the U.S., nine regions, nine states, and ten cities, and on-highway diesel for the U.S., the same nine regions, and California. It collects gasoline prices on Mondays at 8:00 a.m. local time, so the clause should say which Monday counts.
What step size should I use?: Smaller steps recover more and change more often. With the example numbers, a 25-cent step leaves $0.11 a trip of the price rise with you, and a 5-cent step leaves nothing at that price. One public example pairs small steps with a slow reset: a Chicago Public Schools paratransit renewal effective September 1, 2022 moved its rate 0.2 cents a mile for every 5 cents of price change, adjusted quarterly. Pick the step your customers can follow on an invoice.
Can I use the calculator for a diesel van?: Yes. Enter the on-highway diesel price from EIA and the diesel van's own miles per gallon. For the week of October 5, 2026, EIA lists on-highway diesel at $6.199 a gallon nationally, against $4.354 for regular gasoline, so the base price and the index must both be diesel. Mixing a gasoline base with a diesel index overstates the surcharge.
Why does the calculator count empty miles?: The van burns fuel on the way to the pickup and back from the drop-off, and the rider only pays for the loaded miles. The surcharge per trip covers all the miles driven, and the per-loaded-mile figure spreads that money over the miles on the rate sheet. Take both mile counts from your trip records, not a guess.