Fuel Station Throughput Calculator

Work out fuel station throughput instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Fuel Station Throughput Calculator

Forecourt capacity is dispensing positions multiplied by vehicles per position per hour and open hours. Payment time is usually the binding constraint rather than pump flow rate, which is why pay-at-pump materially increases throughput without any civil works.

Formulas

Vehicles per position hour

Per position = 60 / Average transaction minutes

Daily capacity

Capacity = Positions x Vehicles per position hour x Open hours

Worked example

With the default values below, Fuel Station Throughput Calculator returns Daily vehicle capacity of 2,304. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Dispensing positions: 8
Average time per vehicle including payment: 5
Open hours per day: 24
Average litres per fill: 32

Results

Daily vehicle capacity: 2,304
Daily volume capacity: 73,728
Vehicles per position per hour: 12.00
Monthly volume capacity: 2,244,280

Step by step

1Values used
2Vehicles per position hour
3Daily capacity
4Daily vehicle capacity= 2,304
5Daily volume capacity= 73,728
6Vehicles per position per hour= 12.00
7Monthly volume capacity= 2,244,280

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is theoretical capacity achievable?

No. Demand is peaked, so practical throughput is usually 40-60% of theoretical capacity across a day.

What increases throughput most?

Reducing payment time. Moving a five-minute transaction to three and a half minutes adds over 40% to capacity per position.