The true cost of the daily school run

Many families understandably compare the school run service to “just using the car”. In practice, the annual cost of driving from Kouklia to Limassol every school day is higher than it first appears — even before putting a value on your time.  Below is an illustrative annual cost for a typical family doing the daily school run themselves.

Assumptions  

• School days per year: 250
• Round-trips per day: 2  (morning drop-off and afternoon collection)
• Distance: 50 km each way

     =>Driving: 200 km per day; 50,000 km per year

     => Time spent driving: ~3 hours per day 

Direct vehicle costs (per year)

1. Fuel

• Typical fuel consumption for family car:  7 litres/100 km
• 3,500 litres per year
• Price: €1.30/litre

    => Total: €4,500 per year

2. Wear and tear / depreciation

• Conservative allowance: €0.20 per km
• 50,000 km × €0.20
• Total: €10,000

Total direct car cost: €14,500 per year

• This excludes insurance uplift, unexpected repairs, or the cost of replacing the vehicle sooner due to heavy mileage.

Time cost (optional but real)

• Daily driving time: ~3 hours per day 
• Annual Total: 750 hours per year

If you value your time at:

• €0 per hour → €0
• €10 per hour → €7,500
• €30 per hour → €22,500

Total annual cost of self-driving

Ignoring “time” completely:
≈ €14,500 per year

Valuing time very modestly at €10/hour:
≈ €22,000 per year

Putting this in context

The Kouklia–Limassol School Run is expected to costs €5,000–€6,000 per child per year, providing:

• Door-to-door transport
• A professional, licensed driver
• A dedicated, insured school vehicle
• Predictable timings
• And the return of hundreds of hours of family time each year

For many families, the service is not only more convenient — it is also materially cheaper than running a car intensively for the school commute.