Travel time and why you should choose a removalist company that charges it.

Fact: Sydney has the worst traffic congestion in Australia.

Congestion costs our business several thousand dollars in additional operating expenses every year. It adds to the cost of wages, fuel, vehicle registration and fleet maintenance. Congestion also means we take on less work as our vehicles are sitting in traffic longer than ever before. Traffic congestion in Sydney gets worse every year and it makes it hard for a small business like ours to make a profit.

At Frog Furniture Removals, we charge a marginal rate of travel time to help relieve the financial burden. And we mean marginal. Local moves within a 10 kilometre radius of our base in Inner West Sydney do not incur travel charges. Simply because we assume travel time will not exceed 30 minutes. As we travel far and wide across Sydney, including country NSW, about half of our moves do incur a small travel charge.

We do this to ensure our business recovers some costs associated to wages and fuel. Our business is particularly vulnerable to the high cost of fuel, and on average, our crew sit in Sydney’s unpleasant traffic for up to 2.5 hours per day. Every day.

It was only last Friday the 15th of May that we were forced to a halt for 3.5 hours due to a serious traffic incident which closed the M1 where a B-double had rolled over. Luckily, everyone was OK and no injury was suffered. But many transport businesses do suffer in these circumstances. And it’s not only odd incidents like this one that cause the severe financial pressures we face, but the daily compounding effects of traffic congestion.

Now some removalist companies do not charge travel time. They do not pay their employees for sitting in traffic even though they are technically working! Imagine that? We can’t.

So, why do we pay our crew for merely sitting in traffic? Firstly, we think it’s simply a fair thing to do (not to mention the legal aspects relating to unpaid work). Secondly, it means we have tremendously high retention rates of quality staff. And for our clients, it also means you get caring professionals moving your beloved items. And happy ones at that!

No cowboys. Only happy hard-working Frogs.

Danny & Vesna.

(For the record, our clients are advised at the time of booking if travel time applies to their move. And we truly can't think of a single client who has been unwilling to pay the small fee to keep us moving them. In paying for travel time, you are not only supporting us, but you are also showing your support for Australia's workforce which no doubt you are also a part of.)