Motorcycle transport pricing
Ok, so here’s a thing. In SA we charge around R2,500 on average for a medium sized bike to be transported between JHB and Cape Town door to door. That’s around 1450 km that equates to around R1.72 per kilometre. Bearing in mind the contractor has invested in vehicles that must be reliable, drivers wages and subsistence whilst on the road, trailers, vehicle maintenance and insurance. Then there is office staff, rent and admin equipment and airtime. This all mounts up and must come out of the R1.72 the client is paying. Now I have always been of the opinion that these rates are way too low and are not really sustainable. We have seen many contractors come with bright eyes and enthusiasm just to fail a few months later because they realise their business model will just not work, if they want to be competitive in the market and still make some money at the end of the day. Motorcycle transport pricing.
Now have a look at what they charge in the US. Bearing in mind the market is waaaayyyyyyy larger than here in sunny ‘ol SA and they charge on average around R6,000 for a similar trip, that’s around R4.13 per Kilometre.
The upshot is obvious, clients demand a high level of service but are not willing to pay for it. The transport contractors spend huge amounts on fuel, maintenance, capitol outlay on vehicles etc etc and this is still not good enough for Joe Client. It is high time that contractors started charging a more realistic fee for the service we provide, in all weathers and road conditions, sleeping in our trucks and eating crap. Being away from our families for days on end and all this for some clown to turn round and say he wants his bike NOW and doesn’t give a crap that the truck is still in Durban because a dealership would not stay open an extra hour to take delivery of a bike.
It is high time the biking fraternity in SA took stock of the service we provide, the risks we take and the stress we must endure just to ensure your bike is transported from JHB to Cape Town safely.
