How to plan peak cover without paying peak rates

Every year the same thing happens. Mail and retail volumes climb from October, everybody goes to market in the same fortnight, and the rate goes up because the supply has already gone.

Book earlier than feels necessary

The drivers worth having are placed by early September. Booking in August costs less than booking in November, and you get people who have worked your site before.

Block-book crews, not individuals

A crew that has worked together needs less briefing and makes fewer mistakes on a route they already know. It is cheaper per drop even at the same hourly rate.

Use the same faces

Retention through peak is worth more than the headline rate. A driver on their fourth week on your run is not the same asset as a new starter, and swapping them out to save fifty pence an hour rarely pays.