[HT] Cost of a Stagecoach Ticket

Jinumon · 01-25-2021, 08:03 PM

Hey all,

Got something of a doozy for you. I've been trying to work up a reasonable price for ticket on a 19th-century stagecoach, like the one presented in GURPS High-Tech, pp. 232-233. What follows is my best attempt at creating said pricing; I'm just looking for suggestions and proof-readers.

Following the example set in David Pulver's Medieval Sea Trade from Pyramid 3/87: Low-Tech III for calculating the oversea shipping rates, we get the following:

The rates assume the stagecoach is teamed by a driver (TL5 Average job, $1,100); this includes food. Assuming the stagecoach operates for 16 hours per day, 30 days per month, a total of 3 drivers will need to work in shifts to operate the stagecoach if each works an 8-hour shift, 20 days per month, for a total cost of $3,300/month. The cost of stabling, feeding, and shoeing the team of 6 horses costs $150 per animal, per week, or an extra $3,600 per month. It will take 2 teams (12 horses, periodically switched out) to pull for the entirety of the grueling 16-hour day, so double this to $7,200. The stagecoach and horses are financed at 8% compound interest requiring 1% of its worth every month in payment; a $4,400 stagecoach plus 12 $1,200 saddle horses requires $188. Add an extra 1/500 cost for general maintenance/veterinary expenses at $37.60/month, for a grand total of $10725.60/month, or about $10,700/month. Finally, the stagecoach can carry 10 passengers, 128 miles per day, 30 days per month, or 38,400 passenger-miles.

Break-even cost per passenger-mile is therefore $10,725.60/38,400 = $0.28, or about 3.6 passenger miles per G$. Assume 1.33 times this to allow for some profit without being undercut by competitors. Now, a stagecoach has capacity for 10 passengers, but will likely not carry so many at a time, so let's halve the expected number of passengers to 5, effectively doubling the cost per passenger-mile. That means the cost of a one-person ticket per mile is about $0.28 x 1.33 x 2 = about $0.75. Considering that railroads (GURPS High-Tech, p. 35) and steam liners (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 35-36) of the era cost $1/mile and $3/mile, this seems appropriate.

Anyway, how'd I do? Does this seem right? Are there any costs I'm overstating or forgetting? Let me know what y'all think.

Jinumon

01-25-2021, 08:03 PM	#1
Jinumon Join Date: Mar 2013	[HT] Cost of a Stagecoach Ticket Hey all, Got something of a doozy for you. I've been trying to work up a reasonable price for ticket on a 19th-century stagecoach, like the one presented in GURPS High-Tech, pp. 232-233. What follows is my best attempt at creating said pricing; I'm just looking for suggestions and proof-readers. Following the example set in David Pulver's Medieval Sea Trade from *Pyramid 3/87: Low-Tech III* for calculating the oversea shipping rates, we get the following: The rates assume the stagecoach is teamed by a driver (TL5 Average job, $1,100); this includes food. Assuming the stagecoach operates for 16 hours per day, 30 days per month, a total of 3 drivers will need to work in shifts to operate the stagecoach if each works an 8-hour shift, 20 days per month, for a total cost of $3,300/month. The cost of stabling, feeding, and shoeing the team of 6 horses costs $150 per animal, per week, or an extra $3,600 per month. It will take 2 teams (12 horses, periodically switched out) to pull for the entirety of the grueling 16-hour day, so double this to $7,200. The stagecoach and horses are financed at 8% compound interest requiring 1% of its worth every month in payment; a $4,400 stagecoach plus 12 $1,200 saddle horses requires $188. Add an extra 1/500 cost for general maintenance/veterinary expenses at $37.60/month, for a grand total of $10725.60/month, or about $10,700/month. Finally, the stagecoach can carry 10 passengers, 128 miles per day, 30 days per month, or 38,400 passenger-miles. Break-even cost per passenger-mile is therefore $10,725.60/38,400 = $0.28, or about 3.6 passenger miles per G$. Assume 1.33 times this to allow for some profit without being undercut by competitors. Now, a stagecoach has capacity for 10 passengers, but will likely not carry so many at a time, so let's halve the expected number of passengers to 5, effectively doubling the cost per passenger-mile. That means the cost of a one-person ticket per mile is about $0.28 x 1.33 x 2 = about $0.75. Considering that railroads (GURPS High-Tech, p. 35) and steam liners (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 35-36) of the era cost $1/mile and $3/mile, this seems appropriate. Anyway, how'd I do? Does this seem right? Are there any costs I'm overstating or forgetting? Let me know what y'all think. Jinumon