In order to make a decision as to whether the organisation should purchase its own transport vehicles or use a common or contract carrier, the costs of ownership must be calculated. The two elements of transport costs are the fixed costs and the operating costs. Some costs are incurred irrespective of whether the vehicles are actually moving or not. These fixed costs include such items as vehicle licence duties, insurance and interest due on loans obtained to purchase vehicles. Operating, or running, costs are a function of the distances travelled by the vehicle and include fuel, tyres and repair and maintenance costs. A list of fixed and operating costs appears in the table below.