Instacart, measured · September 6, 2026
What would happen if you followed one delivery day, mile for mile?
This car spent 5h19m delivering on September 6: three batches, four orders, 89 items, 4h04m of it on the app's clock. It drove 29.3 miles for those batches against 28.9 miles of route, so 0.4 miles it did not need to. At this car’s measured 12.2¢ a mile, those 29.3 miles took $3.58 of electricity. If you are pricing a car that has to earn its keep, this page is the workload and the Ledger is the cost.
The two clocks of one delivery day
- Door to door5h19m4h04m of it on the app's clock
- Delivered89 itemsthree batches, four orders
- Electricity$3.5829.3 working miles at 12.2¢ a mile
Electricity for those miles, modeled
$3.58
29.3 miles for batches at 12.2¢ a mile, the rate every page on this site runs on. modeled
3/4/89
Batches, orders, items
0.4mi
Dead miles
96%
Found or replaced
63%
Of pay was tips
The day, in hours from the first accept
- On the app's clock, one bar per batch
- Door to door
- Charging
measured. The app's clock runs from accept to the last drop-off of each batch. The time between bars is the car's: a charge stop and the drive from one zone to the next. Hours, not clock times, so the day's start stays unpublished.
Batch by batch
| Store | Orders | Items | In store | Per item | App clock | Route | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store 1, Brentwood | 2 | 45 | 82 min | 109 s | 116 min | 10.7 mi | yes |
| Store 2, Brentwood | 1 | 14 | 19 min | 81 s | 43 min | 8.1 mi | yes |
| Store 3, Franklin | 1 | 30 | 55 min | 110 s | 85 min | 10.1 mi | no |
measured. In store runs from the minute the car stopped at the store to the minute it left for the first customer. Per item is that time divided by the items shopped. Route is the app's own legs, store to every drop-off.
What the miles cost
modeled $3.58: 29.3 miles at the 12.2¢ this car is measured at. modeled $8.20: the same miles at the 28.0¢ of the 2015 Chevrolet Express 2500, the figure on the Ledger.
Every settled day
| Day | Batches | Orders | Items | Door to door | App clock | Miles | Dead | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6, 2026 | 3 | 4 | 89 | 5h19m | 4h04m | 29.3 | 0.4 | $3.58 |
measured. A day joins this table once every drive on it is settled and every route leg is in. Miles are the car's for the batches; dead miles are those beyond the app's route.
- If you are hiring
One car, three jobs
The studio this car is the denominator under, and the two tracks carrying its miles today.
- If you are pricing one
The Ledger
What a mile costs in this car, measured against four gas vehicles that were actually owned.
- If you are weighing the switch
The Switch
Gas to electric in seven chapters, each opening with what it actually measured.
What happens next
Want to follow the next project?
Everything here started as a what-if and ended as a record. The crew hears the day the next one opens.