By Nathalie Voit
Popular ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft announced their decision to introduce a temporary fuel surcharge for riders amid sky-high gas prices.
Uber will implement a new fuel surcharge on March 16 to help drivers and couriers in the U.S. and Canada, the company said in a press release last week, citing high gas prices.
“Many people are feeling the sting of record-high prices at the pump—and that’s certainly true of drivers and couriers,” Uber said. “While earnings on our platform remain elevated compared to historical trends, the recent spike in gas prices has affected rideshare and delivery drivers. To help reduce the burden, we are rolling out a temporary fuel surcharge.”
Customers will pay a surcharge of either $0.45 or $0.55 on each Uber trip, and either $0.35 or $0.45 on each Uber Eats order, depending on their location, average trip distance, and the increase in gas prices in every state. Uber said 100% of that money would go directly towards its drivers.
“We know that prices have been going up across the economy, so we’ve done our best to help drivers and couriers without placing too much additional burden on consumers,” Uber said. “Over the coming weeks, we plan to listen closely to feedback from consumers, couriers, and drivers. We’ll also continue to track gas price movements to determine if we need to make additional changes.”
The company said the fees would be temporary and last for at least the next 60 days when Uber plans to reassess.
In similar news, Lyft also announced a temporary surcharge on its rides to help ease pump pain for drivers employed by the platform.
“We’ve been closely monitoring rising gas prices and their impact on our driver community,” Lyft senior communications manager CJ Macklin told Engadget in a statement. “Driver earnings overall remain elevated compared to last year, but given the rapid rise in gas prices we’ll be asking riders to pay a temporary fuel surcharge, all of which will go to drivers. We’ll share more details shortly.”
The company has yet to announce an approximate cost for the surcharge or when the new fee will go into effect. However, the new changes are expected to be implemented soon, according to Engadget.
The news arrives amid growing discontent among workers in the ridesharing industry, who are in charge of filling up their own tanks but have seen their earnings evaporate as soaring gas prices cut into take-home pay.
