Delivery, rideshare drivers hit hard by gas prices

Rideshare drivers and food delivery workers in Connecticut are finding it harder to survive as the price of gas continues to rise, swallowing their paychecks and leaving measly funds for food and housing.

As of Monday, the average price of regular gas in Connecticut rose to $4.89 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s up 13 cents since Friday. A year ago, the price was $3.08.

Fran Mayko, a Connecticut spokesperson for AAA, said surveys show the “pain point” for filling up cars is the $4 mark, but people continue to travel.

“A follow-up survey indicated most people now say that $5 a gallon would be the mark where they’d reduce driving,” Mayko said. “Only time will tell.”

People who drive for a living don’t have an option to reduce their time on the road if they want to survive.

Carlos Gomez has been driving for Uber in Connecticut for six years. He quit his other job, bought a nicer car and decided to make rideshare his primary source of income. Now, he’s still working to pay off that car and the price of gas is making it hard for him to get by.

“Each day, it’s $60 or $70 for gas,” Gomez said. “I make $160 a day, but $60 goes to gas.”

Uber drivers like Gomez, as well as drivers for apps like Lyft, DoorDash and GrubHub, are independent contractors or gig workers. They can choose when they want to sign into the app to work, but they do not have benefits like health insurance or workers’ compensation and the company can control wages and policies.

On any given day, Gomez will work in New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford and many other Connecticut cities. He goes where the app tells him. When he adds up the wear and tear on the car, increased frequency of oil changes and other daily expenses, Gomez said sometimes he is losing money.

An example of a standard trip takes Gomez to Union Station in New Haven where he picks up a passenger and drives the person 60 miles to another destination in Connecticut. Not accounting for gas, Gomez said he would make about $48 on this ride. But after filling up, he only makes about a $20 profit.

“It is impossible to live,” Gomez said.

He is not alone. Jesenia Rodriguez, of New Haven, said she drives for Uber and also delivers food for Uber Eats. For smaller deliveries, she’s making only $3 or $4, not even enough to cover one gallon of gas. Her deliveries take her to towns and cities all over Connecticut.

She said she needs to move out of her apartment, but cannot find a place she can afford on Uber’s wages.

“Those who literally work over 14-hour days can make a little bit of profit, but with the gas situation right now, it’s unpredictable,” Rodriguez said.

The money Rodriguez said she makes is often below the minimum wage.

“The wear and tear on the car, the gas, your time, at the end, you can’t even put food on the table or pay bills,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez and Gomez, who are union members of Connecticut Drivers United, attributed their financial strife to their wages from Uber, which they claim is not accommodating for inflation.

As of March 16, Uber announced customers would pay a surcharge of 45 cents or 55 cents on each Uber trip or 35 cents or 45 cents on each UberEats order, depending on location to help compensate for high prices at the pump.

The surcharge was supposed to end on May 15, but has been extended, according to a spokesperson for Uber.

“We are temporarily extending the gas surcharge,” said Hayley Prim, policy manager for Uber in Connecticut. “We’ll continue to listen to driver and courier feedback and proactively communicate any changes to them in advance.”

Some workers criticized the surcharge for being per trip rather than per mile, meaning the benefits run out on longer trips.

On Feb. 9, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced that the fourth quarter of 2021 was UberEats’ first profitable quarter. The quarter generated $25 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization.

“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,” Liza Winship, head of driver operations for U.S. and Canada, said in a March statement. “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.

Katie Wells is a Postdoctoral Fritz Fellow with Georgetown’s Tech & Society initiative. She studies the gig economy and its workers. She said to help workers survive the high gas prices,

Uber and similar companies like Lyft, DoorDash and GrubHub need to institute a higher, longerlasting surcharge.

“A larger surcharge is the bare minimum, the bigger issue is recognizing the power imbalance, thinking about misclassification to offset the risk and possibilities of debt that workers face,” Wells said.

Wells has been studying a group of food delivery and rideshare drivers in the Washington area. Within the first year on the job, a third of those workers went into debt.

Since Gomez started with Uber six years ago, the way workers are compensated has changed multiple times. While he started out thinking it would be a profitable and flexible alternative to a regular job, he said being an independent contractor has become less sustainable and much less independent.

Rodriguez has tried to maintain the job at Uber, balancing Uber and UberEats and accepting as many rides as possible, all while looking for housing.

She even got an electric car to reduce her gas expenses.

“We are serving the community,” Rodriguez said. “There has to be something for us and for drivers all around the USA.”