As the war in the Middle East rages on, rising gas prices are prompting more Uber and Lyft drivers to cancel rides.
Justin Fisher, an Uber driver in Houston, said he now prioritizes the most profitable trips, even if they take him to areas he considers unsafe.
“The cost of gas is an unpleasant reality,” Fisher said.
The spike is affecting rideshare drivers like Sergio Avedian, a former Wall Street trader who now drives for Uber and Lyft in Southern California. He said gas at two stations near his suburban Los Angeles home jumped by about $1 in the past week. “It’s been extremely noticeable,” Avedian said.
Meanwhile, drivers using electric vehicles (EVs) say they are largely unaffected by the spike in gas prices. One driver in North Carolina who works for both Uber and Lyft reported staying busy over the weekend.
The driver, who owns a Tesla Model Y and charges it at home, said rising fuel costs haven’t been on his mind. “I haven’t been in a gas station in forever,” he said.
Avedian said the biggest challenge for drivers is that Uber and Lyft set the fares, leaving drivers unable to raise rates when operating costs rise. “Uber and Lyft aren’t paying us more to offset the difference, which is significant,” he said.
North Carolina–based rideshare drivers Jason Bowers and Omar Lewis said that while the price increase hasn’t stopped them from working, they acknowledge that such a sharp rise in fuel costs can make the job more challenging.
“It’s putting a damper on drivers, of course. I mean, we’re paying more per gallon. We’re paying more for giving rides,” Bowers said.
Avedian said he encourages rideshare drivers to be more selective about the trips they accept. “If a trip that is offered to you as a driver is not profitable, I tell them to ‘decline and recline.’ You have to decline bad offers, because this is not a public service.”
RELATED CONTENT: Elevate Your Excellence: Exalting The Renaissance Of Harlem’s Favored Rose, Teyana Taylor
Source: Black Enterprise
