Giving lifts?

[afterthenightday]

So a colleague has a broken wrist and cannot drive. They seemed down so I offered to drive them into the office on the one day of the week we’re supposed to be in. They agreed and were thankful.

Now they are asking me to do it again (there and back) which adds around 40 minutes in total. We all know petrol is extortionate and I’m worried this will be a regular thing.

Aibu and should just help out? I can’t see a way I can refuse

This is the thing with giving lifts once you offer once you end up being asked again more often

That being said I would probably do it again especially due to the whole broken wrist situation
I get the 40 mins added to journey situation, that can be annoying and with the petrol
Did they offer any Petrol money before?
I’d probably do it once or twice more then say no
This sounds temporary anyway if it’s a broken wrist

But if you wanted to say no this time, then say no

Poor colleague but it’s not your problem really and that’s not a short detour. Work need to sort it for them and either to allow them to WFH or pay for a taxi!

Couldn't be arsed with giving lifts again. Used to help a colleague years ago, was outbof my way, never contributed to fuel and always late.

One day I had enough of waiting, she was 10 minutes late, I was parked outside her house and just drove off. She even had the audacity to complain about me to hr. Lifts ceased that day and she resumed her 1 hour (ew) public transport commute, as opposes to a 15 minute car journey.

Is it possible she could contribute to fuel costs?

Or could work arrange taxis for her? Or for her to work from home?

No, not it in the bud now. This will go on for weeks if not months.

The fact that she didn’t offer petrol
money says it all.

Stop it now or your resentment will grow.

Surely she gave petrol money last time? If not say "yes thats fine but as its quite a detour unfortunately I'll have to ask for petrol contribution of X amount" job done.

If it’s adds an extra 40 minutes in total I would say no. That’s unreasonable of your colleague to expect you to go out of your way.

I drop a colleague off home 3 days a week when we are in the office together because I literally drive past her house on my commute. I think that’s reasonable. I would no way be adding an extra 40 minutes on my journey.

Just say no OP. It’s not your problem. And you don’t even have to give a reason why.

Is there a bus or train that would take them most of the way?

Yeah just say this

If it’s a 40 min de-tour I’d be wary, or if I did I’d want it to be the last time. It’s awkward and she should be offering fuel or not asking knowing it’s so far out of your way

I think more detail is needed. How long is your usual journey? What extra mileage is incurred by giving them a lift? Is there a compromise to be found on the additional journey? Is this daily or how frequent?

What did you say when she asked you to take her in again? How have you left things so far? Does she appreciate how far you are going out of your way?

An extra 40 mins out of my free time?? Nope. Just say you don't have the time to spare, sorry

Did she offer money before? How did she get into work previously, or is this the first time she’d had to go to work since breaking her wrist?

Does she realise it’s 40 mins out your way?

I only ever offer lifts if it's directly on my route to/from work.

I used to give a colleague lifts most weeks - but I literally drove straight past his house to get to work, so I wasn't going out of my way to take him. He always offered some fuel money.

There's no way I'd do it for a 40 minute de-tour, even with petrol money. That's insane.

Just tell the truth, "I'm really sorry but lifts adds 40 minutes onto my journey and costs me alot of fuel."

I used to be a non-driver in car-pools (several different ones over a few years). The non-drivers paid petrol money (there was a going-rate at our place of work) and usually got themselves close to the driver's route.

Given that this is a temporary situation, I might be inclined to say "I can do it this week, if you don't mind contributing £ for the petrol, but it really is rather out of my way, so can you put a message out round the company to see if there's someone more in your direction who could help you out after that."

What's the public transport situation? Could she use public transport for part of the journey, or get a neighbour to drop her somewhere more convenient?