Three Traffic Control Quotes Compared: A Worked Example for Builders

To compare traffic control quotes properly, convert each one into a total for the same realistic shift: actual hours on site, minimum charges, vehicles, travel, plans and a contingency for overruns at each provider's overtime rate. The worked example below shows how a quote with the lowest hourly rate ended up the most expensive option.

Most builders compare the number in bold at the top of the quote. That number is rarely what you pay. What you pay is the hourly rate multiplied by hours you did not plan for, plus line items that sit on page two. The fix takes about twenty minutes with a spreadsheet or a sheet of paper.

The example job and the scope sent to all three providers

Example scenario: a builder is replacing a damaged kerb and driveway crossover outside a house on a two-lane local road. It is a two-day job.

• Day 1: an excavator breaks out the old kerb and crossover and a tipper takes the spoil away.
• Day 2: formwork is finished early and a concrete truck arrives mid-morning for the pour.
• Work window: 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, as allowed by the council permit.
• Traffic arrangement: the person preparing the traffic guidance scheme (TGS) has indicated a lane closure with stop/slow control at each end, so two controllers plus a vehicle carrying signs and cones.
• Site contact: the builder's site supervisor, who will sign dockets.

The builder sent the same one-page scope to three providers, as recommended in our traffic control quote checklist. That step matters. If each provider quotes a different crew size or a different window, the comparison is meaningless.

The three quotes as they arrived

Here is what came back, summarised. Again, these are hypothetical figures for the example.

On the headline rate, Quote B looks like the winner at $75 an hour. Quote C looks the most expensive because $1,500 a day feels like a lot. Neither impression survives the arithmetic.

Step 1: Work out the realistic shift, not the work window

The council permit says 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, but that is the work window. The crew has to set up before the excavator moves and pack down after it stops.

On this job the team leader would typically plan to arrive around 6:30 am, hold a short briefing, do radio checks, place the advance warning signs from the furthest sign inward, set the taper and stop/slow positions, and have the closure ready for the 7:00 am start. At the end of the day, signs come out in reverse order: the work area first, then the taper, then the advance signs, with permanent signs uncovered last. Allow until about 3:30 pm.

That gives 9 hours on site per day. On day 2, concrete trucks run late often enough that an honest comparison adds one extra hour as contingency.

Step 2: Price each quote on the same assumptions

Example calculation, using the hypothetical figures above and the same assumptions for all three: 2 controllers, 9 hours each day, plus 1 hour of overtime on day 2.

Quote A ($85/hr, everything included)

1. Day 1: 2 controllers × 9 hours × $85 = $1,530.
2. Day 2: 2 controllers × 10 hours × $85 = $1,700 (15-minute increments, so the hour is billed as an hour).
3. Plan, vehicle and travel are included.
4. Total: $3,230 ex GST.

Quote B ($75/hr, extras separate)

1. Controllers: 2 × 9 hours × $75 = $1,350 per day.
2. Vehicle: 9 hours × $40 = $360 per day (above the 8-hour minimum).
3. Travel: 2 controllers × 1 hour × $75 = $150 per day.
4. Per day: $1,860. Two days: $3,720.
5. TGS: $350.
6. Day 2 overrun: 2 × 1 hour × $75 + 1 hour vehicle × $40 = $190.
7. Total: $4,260 ex GST.

Quote C (fixed $1,500 per day)

1. Fixed price covers 8 hours on site. The realistic shift is 9 hours, so 1 hour of overtime each day: 2 × $95 = $190.
2. Per day: $1,690. Two days: $3,380.
3. Day 2 overrun: another 2 × $95 = $190.
4. Plan, vehicle and travel included.
5. Total: $3,570 ex GST.

Step 3: Put the totals side by side

The quote with the lowest hourly rate came last by more than $1,000 in this example. The vehicle charge, the travel hour and the plan fee were each modest on their own. Together, over two days, they outweighed a $10 an hour difference in rate.

Notice also what happens if the builder had compared only the 8-hour work window. Quote C would have looked closer to Quote A, because its fixed price exactly covers 8 hours. Once set-up and pack-down are counted, Quote C starts every day with an hour of overtime. Our explainer on traffic control minimum hours covers why minimums and day prices are structured this way.

Step 4: What could go wrong, and how the comparison changes

A good comparison also tests what happens when the day does not go to plan.

The pour is cancelled because of rain

Check each provider's cancellation and weather terms. If Quote A charges the full minimum for a cancellation after a certain time but Quote C charges a smaller call-off fee, the ranking for a job with weather risk could change. Ask each provider in writing what a call-off at 6:00 am costs.

The site supervisor wants an extra controller for the tipper

On day 1 the tipper needs to reverse out of the work area across the open lane. If the team leader decides a third person is needed to manage that movement safely, each quote needs a price for an additional controller, with its own minimum. Add a line to your comparison for "extra controller, 4-hour minimum" so you know the cost before it is needed on the day.

The TGS needs a revision

If the person preparing the plan finds something the scope did not mention, such as a bus stop inside the closure, the plan may need to change and a revised permit may be needed. Quote B charges for plans; ask whether revisions are extra. Our article on the traffic guidance scheme explains what goes into one. A TGS must be prepared by a suitably qualified person, and nothing in this example is engineering advice.

Step 5: Check the non-price items before you decide

Price is only half of the comparison. Use this checklist for each provider before accepting the cheapest total.

For current card and WHS rules, check with SafeWork NSW or your state regulator, and for road requirements, Transport for NSW or your road authority. Our guide on how to hire a traffic control company has a fuller list of questions.

Step 6: Record your assumptions and use them at invoice time

Write the assumptions under your comparison table: 9 hours on site, 2 controllers, 1 hour contingency on day 2, plan included or priced, all figures ex GST. When you accept a quote, send those assumptions back with the acceptance so the provider can correct anything they disagree with.

When the invoice arrives, compare it with three things:

1. The accepted quote.
2. Your written assumptions.
3. The signed daily dockets showing start and finish times for each controller and vehicle.

If the invoice shows 11 hours on day 2 but the docket your supervisor signed says 10, you have the evidence to ask for a correction. Our article on digital timesheets and dockets shows what a good docket records.

A one-page template for your own comparison

Copy this layout for your next job:

• Row 1: provider name and quote reference.
• Row 2: rate or day price, and what it covers.
• Row 3: minimums for people and vehicles.
• Row 4: realistic hours per day (same for every provider).
• Row 5: controller cost per day.
• Row 6: vehicle and equipment cost per day.
• Row 7: travel per day.
• Row 8: plans, permits and one-off fees.
• Row 9: contingency at the overtime rate and increment.
• Row 10: total ex GST.
• Row 11: non-price checks passed (yes or no).

If you would rather not build the arithmetic yourself, the free traffic control cost estimator gives you a starting point you can adapt for each quote.

Next steps

Before you book your next job, write one scope, get two or three written quotes and run each through the same realistic shift with a contingency. Pick the lowest total that also passes the non-price checks, and keep your assumptions for invoice day.