\n<\/p>\n
Drivers for Uber and Lyft across the US are spending hundreds more dollars on fuel each month after the US-Israel war on Iran triggered a sharp rise in oil prices.<\/p>\n
Support offered by the ride-hailing companies amounts to a \u201cslap in the face\u201d, drivers operating their services told the Guardian, as many are forced to choose between driving more to make the same money as previously \u2013 or cutting back their miles to reduce costs.<\/p>\n
The companies have both expanded rewards and discounts through financial services products in recent weeks, as average US fuel prices surged from $2.98 a gallon at the end of February to above $4.<\/p>\n
But gig workers at Uber and Lyft say such support is not enough, and \u201cpretty hollow\u201d compared to any increase in pay for drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few weeks ago, I filled up my hybrid car for $36,\u201d said John Mejia, a driver for Lyft and Uber in Oakland for over a decade. \u201cNow it\u2019s $60, so I don\u2019t drive as much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The higher cost of fuel is \u201cmoney that comes out of what Uber or Lyft pays me\u201d, said Mejia, who has picked up other jobs or gigs to make up the shortfall.<\/p>\n
At the staging lot for ride share drivers at San Francisco international airport, Mejia now waits in the lot, rather than finding other rides in the area. \u201cI don\u2019t want to waste the gas, because I can\u2019t afford it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rideshare drivers for apps such as Uber and Lyft are classified as independent contractors, and bear the costs of buying or leasing a car; maintenance; and fuel.<\/p>\n
Prisell Polanco, an Uber and Lyft driver in the Boston area for about eight years, said he\u2019s been spending an extra $300 a month on fuel alone, without any increase to his income from driving.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, we get paid less and less money for the same ride. That forces you to work even more hours just to pay bills,\u201d said Polanco, who noted he still drives 10 to 12 hours a day because he invested in a car specifically for rideshare driving.<\/p>\n
Mary, an Uber driver for over five years in Chicago, said she had driven less due to the cost of fuel and lack of money to cover it. \u201cNone of the fare prices have been adjusted,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m struggling to do this. I\u2019m struggling to put gas in the car to go out there and make the money that I used to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harvin, a full-time driver for Uber in Los Angeles for over six years, described similar issues. \u201cTwo months ago, I paid $55 for a full tank of gas \u2013 now I have to pay over $75 for a full tank,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means I have to work more hours, around 12 hours a day, just to get what I\u2019m used to making.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Tipton Meyers has driven for Uber and Lyft since 2014 in LA, and noted gas prices in California were significantly higher than much of the rest of the US.<\/p>\n
He criticized the savings and discounts offered to drivers by Uber and Lyft in lieu of increased pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many things that Uber and Lyft offer, semantically on paper they\u2019re true, but in practicality, they\u2019re usually pretty hollow,\u201d said Tipton Meyers. \u201cWhatever passengers are paying, the drivers are getting probably about 25 to 30% of that, and and if you increase gas prices on them, it means that you\u2019ve got a driver who\u2019s on the road couple of hours, maybe a day, longer than they would to make the same amount of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mejia, from Oakland, added: \u201cIf I drove full-time, I would not be able to put food on the table. Drivers are like everybody else. They need to make a living, and with these gas prices going so high, we can\u2019t do it any more. They don\u2019t pay us enough anyway, and now with the gas prices going up, I think people are driving less.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discount reward programs offered by Uber and Lyft to offset fuel costs do not \u201cmake sense\u201d, said Mejia, who claimed they offer discounted prices at more expensive gas stations. \u201cI\u2019m not making money,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m losing more money because I\u2019m taking this ride, and you\u2019re expecting me to believe that you\u2019re saving me money. It\u2019s a slap in the face. It is ridiculous what they want to offer us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be happier with the 50\u00a2 per ride surcharge they offered in 2022, which still is not enough, but it\u2019s a slap in the face. They do not care about drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Uber shared a press release covering the company\u2019s expanded discount and savings programs to help with fuel, which includes rewards and additional cashback if drivers sign up and use the Uber Pro debit card.<\/p>\n
\u201cAltogether, top-tier drivers and couriers can save up to $1.44 per gallon when they fill up their tank using these combined offers and discounts,\u201d the press release claimed.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Lyft shared a similar release on expanded discounts and rewards through programs like the Lyft Direct debit card.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrivers are feeling the cost of rising gas prices, which ultimately impacts their earnings,\u201d said Yuko Yamazaki, Lyft\u2019s VP, head of driver, in a statement. \u201cWhen costs spike, we want drivers to choose Lyft because they feel like the platform works for them, not against them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Drivers for Uber and Lyft across the US are spending hundreds more dollars on fuel each month after the US-Israel war on Iran triggered a sharp rise in oil prices. Support offered by the ride-hailing companies amounts to a \u201cslap in the face\u201d, drivers operating their services told the Guardian, as many are forced to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[303,1326,8758,660,867,7638,269,7472,895,553,1610],"class_list":{"0":"post-48567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dont","10":"tag-drivers","11":"tag-fuel","12":"tag-gas","13":"tag-lyft","14":"tag-prices","15":"tag-reeling","16":"tag-soar","17":"tag-uber","18":"tag-waste"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}