How to split a taxi fare when drop-offs differ
Quick answer
Split the booking fee equally, then share each part of the distance among the people still in the cab. On a $39 fare with a $3 booking fee, friends dropped at 3, 5 and 9 miles pay $5, $9 and $25, not $13 each. If everyone gets out at the same place, divide equally.
Key points
- An equal split is right when everyone gets out at the same place. When drop-offs differ, each part of the distance is shared by the people still in the cab.
- On a $39 fare ($3 booking fee and $36 of distance), friends dropped at 3, 5 and 9 miles pay $5, $9 and $25. An equal split is $13 each.
- A 15% tip of $5.85 follows each share, so the totals are $5.75, $10.35 and $28.75, which add to $44.85.
- Enter the result in EvenOut as one expense with "Exact amounts". The pill reads "$X left to assign" until it shows "All assigned".
On this page
How do you split a taxi fare fairly?
Divide it equally when everyone gets out at the same place. When the drop-offs differ, split the fixed fee equally and share each part of the distance among the people still in the cab. The rest of this page runs one fare both ways.
This page is arithmetic only. If the app you booked with has its own way to split a fare, the shares below are the numbers to put into it.
When is an equal split fine?
When the drop-offs are close together. Say the same $39 fare drops three friends at 8.5, 9 and 9 miles, half a mile apart at most. At $4 a mile and a $1 share of the booking fee, the nearest friend’s fair share is about $12.33 and the other two pay about $13.33. An equal $13 each is within 67 cents of that, which is not worth the arithmetic.
The gap grows with the spread of the drop-offs. At 3, 5 and 9 miles it is large enough to matter.
How does the segment method work?
Say the fare is $39, made of a $3 booking fee and $36 for 9 miles, so the distance costs $4 a mile. Three friends, A, B and C, are dropped at 3, 5 and 9 miles.
- Split the booking fee equally. $3 across 3 friends is $1 each.
- Cut the ride into segments at each drop-off: 0 to 3, 3 to 5 and 5 to 9 miles.
- Price each segment at $4 a mile.
- Divide each segment by the number of friends still in the cab.
- Add up each friend’s segments and their $1.
| Segment (miles) | Length | Cost at $4 a mile | Friends in the cab | Each pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | 3 | $12 | 3 | $4 |
| 3 to 5 | 2 | $8 | 2 | $4 |
| 5 to 9 | 4 | $16 | 1 | $16 |
Friend A pays $1 + $4 = $5. Friend B pays $1 + $4 + $4 = $9. Friend C pays $1 + $4 + $4 + $16 = $25. The three amounts add to $39.
Equal shares of $13 would overcharge A by $8 and B by $4, and undercharge C by $12.
How do you add the tip?
The tip is a percent of the fare, so it follows each share. Say the group tips 15% on the whole $39. That is $5.85, and 15% of each share gives $0.75, $1.35 and $3.75, which add back to $5.85.
| Friend | Dropped at | Fare share | Tip (15%) | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 miles | $5.00 | $0.75 | $5.75 |
| B | 5 miles | $9.00 | $1.35 | $10.35 |
| C | 9 miles | $25.00 | $3.75 | $28.75 |
| Total | To 9 miles | $39.00 | $5.85 | $44.85 |
Splitting the $5.85 tip equally instead would put $1.95 on each friend, which is more than twice A’s $0.75 share of the tip.
Why is this only an approximation?
A taxi meter can charge for waiting and slow traffic as well as distance, so a flat price per mile is an estimate and not the meter’s own arithmetic. In steady traffic the estimate is close. If one friend kept the cab waiting, give that part of the fare to that friend first and divide the rest with the method above.
How do you enter it in EvenOut?
Add one expense for the total and put each person’s amount under “Exact amounts”.
- Add the expense. Tap “Add expense”, type $44.85, pick the group or friend under “With”, and set who paid the driver (“Paid by you” or “Paid by {name}”).
- Choose the split. Tap the split chip, choose “Exact amounts” in the “How to split” sheet, and type $5.75, $10.35 and $28.75 next to the three names. While the three amounts do not add to $44.85, the pill shows how much is left to assign or over the total, and it changes to “All assigned” when they do.
- Save it and settle up. When a friend pays, record it with “Settle up”.
Typing the miles under “By shares” gives a different answer, because shares ignore that the early miles are shared. How to split an Uber or Lyft fare shows the numbers for a fare booked through a ride app.
What should you do next?
Agree on the method before the ride, then work the shares out from the receipt total. For a drive in someone’s own car, how to split carpool costs and the carpool cost calculator cover gas, parking and wear. Other trip costs have their own pages: splitting a parking cost and splitting gas on a road trip. When people ordered different amounts at dinner instead, split evenly or pay for what you ordered covers the same question.
Frequently asked questions
What if two friends get out at the same place?
They pay the same. Say the drop-offs are at 3, 9 and 9 miles on the same $39 fare. The first 3 miles ($12) are shared by all three, $4 each. The next 6 miles ($24) are shared by two, $12 each. With the $1 share of the booking fee, the amounts are $5, $17 and $17, which add to $39.
Why not split in proportion to the miles?
Proportion to miles ignores that the early miles are shared. The miles 3, 5 and 9 make 17, so $39 would give $6.88, $11.47 and $20.65. The nearest friend would pay $1.88 more than the $5 the segment method gives, and the farthest would pay $4.35 less than $25.
Who pays the driver, and how do the others pay back?
Whoever pays the driver fronts the money. If the 9-mile friend paid $44.85 with the tip, the 3-mile friend owes $5.75 and the 5-mile friend owes $10.35, and the payer's own $28.75 is already covered. In EvenOut, set the payer, then record each payment with "Settle up". EvenOut records payments and does not move money.
Sources
Checked October 6, 2026.
Keep reading
- Guide How to split an Uber or Lyft fare fairly Riders going 12, 8 and 3 miles on a $48 total pay $30, $14 and $4, not $16 each. See the stretch method, how to split tip and tolls, and how to record it.
- Guide How to split carpool costs fairly, with examples Four ways to split carpool costs on one 22-mile commute: equal shares of gas and parking, a per-mile rate, a flat weekly fee and rotating drivers.
- Calculator Carpool cost calculator: gas, tolls and wear per rider Enter one-way miles, MPG, gas price, tolls and riders to see what each rider pays a month and what the driver saves, next to AAA's 2026 cost per mile.
- Guide How to split a parking cost: per car, per night or per person Parking is billed per car, not per mile. See how to split a $35 event lot, a $192 hotel garage by person-nights and a $180 apartment space, with the sums.
- Guide How to split gas on a road trip Gas for 600 miles at 28 mpg and $3.50 a gallon is $75. See equal, leg by leg and per mile splits, and what to do when a rider leaves halfway.
- Guide Split the bill evenly or pay for what you ordered? On a $160 dinner for four, an even split makes the $22 diner pay $18 too much. When evenly is fine, when to carve out one order, and when to go by item.