What "active vehicle" means

The definition

An active vehicle is a machine that deployed at least once during the billing month — that is, it joined a run and did real work on at least one storm. Deploy once in the month and it counts once; deploy on twenty storms and it still counts once. It's a count of the machines that actually plowed, not a tally of runs or hours.

What does not count

• Spares and backups — a machine that never rolls out has no deployment, so it's never counted. There's nothing to flag: keep as many spares on hand as you like, and if one doesn't plow, it's free.
• Vehicles that never ran — a machine that stays parked for the whole month adds nothing to that month's bill.
• Your crew — operators, dispatchers, and office staff are always free. Billing is per vehicle, never per person.

Why it's counted this way

This is what keeps Snowmass fair for a seasonal business. You can set up your full fleet before the season, keep every machine ready, and only pay for the vehicles that actually turned out for storms in a given month. A light-snow month with three vehicles working costs less than a heavy month with a dozen.

How to keep it lean

Because the count is distinct vehicles that deployed, there's no penalty for how much any one machine works — a single dependable vehicle running many storms is just one active vehicle. Keep as many spares on hand as you like; only the vehicles that actually deploy count, so the number simply reflects the fleet that plowed.

Where to see it

The active-vehicle count for the current and past months lives in your monthly usage snapshot — see that article.