Recently, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) and Uber (NYSE: UBER) have added a surcharge to rides in order to compensate drivers for quickly rising gas prices. According to both companies, the money will be paid to drivers who are responsible for taking care of filling their own gas tanks.
Although Lyft did not offer any further information regarding exactly how much more money that riders should anticipate spending, the drivers have become frustrated and disappointed with the increase in gas prices, since this detracts from their overall earnings on the job. This surcharge is driven by the drastic increase in gas prices, which has been largely been in response nationwide after Russia's declaration of war on the Ukraine led to international sanctions on Russian energy.
This past Monday, the average gas price across America was $4.325, according to data from AAA. Around this time last year, the average price was $2.873 per gallon, NPR reports.
"We've been closely monitoring rising gas prices and their impact on our driver community," Lyft spokesperson CJ Macklin said in a statement, The Verge reports. "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."
According to a Lyft blog post this past Wednesday, this surcharge will be put into effect starting next week. The charge will be around $0.55 per ride. For the next 60 days, Lyft's surcharge will be in effect, and will be applicable no matter if the ride is in a regular or electric vehicle.
In comparison, the ridesharing service of Uber will require customers to pay a surcharge of $0.45 or $0.55 per ride, and Uber Eats deliveries will involve a surcharge of around $0.35 or $0.45 per order. "We know that prices have been going up across the economy, so we've done our best to help drivers and courier without placing too much additional burden on consumers," Uber said in a statement.
This surcharge from Uber, however, will not go into effect for rides that start in New York City or Uber Eats deliveries that take place within the vicinity of the city.