Profit on a mowing route hinges on drive time vs work time. The drive-time ratio — driving over total route hours — shows how much paid time is spent on the road, not the lawn.
The example
1.5 drive, 6 work hours.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value |
| 2 | 1.5 / 7.5 | — |
| 3 | Drive share | → 20% |
The formula
The formula:
How it works
How it works:
- Total drive time and work time across the day’s stops.
- Drive share = drive ÷ (drive + work) — lower is denser.
- Stops per hour = stops ÷ total hours — a density proxy.
- Tighter routes mean more billable lawns per paid hour — the core of route profitability.
Route density, not lawn price, often decides the margin. Two crews charging the same per lawn earn very differently if one drives 20% of the day and the other 40% — every drive-time hour is paid but unbillable. Clustering accounts by neighborhood (and dropping the geographic outliers) raises stops per hour and shrinks drive share, lifting profit on every lawn without changing a single price.
Try it: interactive demo
Drive hours, work hours, stops.
Variations
Stops per hour
Density proxy:
Billable share
Work ÷ total:
Revenue per route hour
Profit lens:
Pitfalls & errors
Drive is paid. Count it — it’s unbillable but real.
Cluster accounts. Geographic density cuts drive share.
Zero hours. Empty route gives #DIV/0!.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate route drive-time share in Excel?
What's a good drive share?
How do I improve route density?
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