“Double Drive Time” Law Makes Budgeting Your Move Easier

What is “Double Drive Time”?

“The Double Drive Time Law (DDT), passed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), requires California based moving companies to double the amount of time it takes to get from the origin point to the destination point at the agreed-upon hourly rate. This law applies to ALL moving companies in the state of California.” – zippgo.com

Despite the name, this actually ends up saving you money. With double drive time, instead of movers charging you for the amount of time that it takes to get to your home or back to their location at the end of the move, the only time that is charged is the actual move itself (where you are moving from to where you are moving to).

The reason for this is because you can’t actually see or verify how much time it takes for the movers to drive from their location/warehouse to your destination, which can lead to unfair charges. You can, however, measure how long it takes to get from your old home to your new home (x2) and plan accordingly.

With double drive time, you simply pay twice for the time it takes to get between destinations to represent the full drive time involved. This is from the Max Rate Tariff 4 law that regulates household goods movers in California.

Here are some terms for you to know:

1. Warehouse – The office of the moving company. Movers cannot start their hourly rate once they leave the “warehouse” and head to your location.
2. Origin – The place you are currently moving from. Once the movers arrive at your origin, the clock starts for services such as loading/unloading.
3. Destination – The place you are moving to. Moving companies will only charge for the time traveled from the origin to the destination, doubled. For instance, if it takes you 30 minutes to drive from each location, you will be paying for 60 minutes (double drive time).

Why does Double Drive Time Exists?

This is meant to protect customers! This makes sure that no moving company holds all the pricing power and allows people to plan ahead on how much a move will cost without any hidden charges at the end.

Customers are not responsible for gas or time traveling from the “warehouse” to the “origin”.

Before this law, moving companies charged “portal to portal”, which included charging for time spent driving to the place of origin and back to the warehouse at the end of the day. This left the customer unprotected and susceptible to less price transparency.

Are there exceptions?

There are a few exceptions to the Maxim Rate Tariff 4 that may allow a moving company to charge for extra services, as seen below.

1. “When carrier is required to perform more than one trip between origin and destination, the time used shall be the total of loading and unloading time, to which will be added double driving time for the first trip from origin to destination and actual driving time for all additional trips between origin and destination for each motor vehicle furnished by carrier.” – Maximum Rate Tariff 4
2. “When two or more shipments are transported on a unit of equipment at the same time, the time used shall be the total of loading and unloading time plus 25 minutes total driving time for each shipment.”
3. “When split pickup, split delivery or split pickup and split delivery in combination is performed, the time used shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of Items 148, 152, or 156, respectively.”

To put it simply, additional charges may occur for various special circumstances or multiple trips between origin and destination. The first trip from the origin to the destination will be “double drive time”, and subsequent back and forth trips will be actual drive time.

Student Movers is ready to go for your next move!

Our trusted movers are well educated, college or post-graduate students with a real knack for moving. We have won countless Super Service Awards from Angie’s List for our professional, friendly, same day moving services.

Every move is planned according to your individual needs and we ensure that your precious items are in safe, capable hands! Whether your job is large or small, home or office, we are always ready to get your boxes packed, loaded up, and on your way to your new destination.