Many people are feeling the sting of record-high prices at the pump—and that’s certainly true of drivers and couriers. While earnings on their platform remain elevated compared to historical trends, the recent spike in gas prices has affected rideshare and delivery drivers. To help reduce the burden, Uber is rolling out a temporary fuel surcharge.
Beginning Wednesday, March 16, consumers 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—with 100% of that money going directly to workers’ pockets.
The surcharges are based off the average trip distance and the increase in gas prices in each state. This is temporary for at least the next 60 days, when they’ll reassess.
Uber says they know that prices have been going up across the economy, so they’ve done their best to help drivers and couriers without placing too much additional burden on consumers.
Importantly, Uber is seizing this moment to bolster efforts to help more drivers make the switch to electric vehicles. Drivers who go electric can already enjoy higher earnings potential due to Uber’s Green Future Program, which provides incentives to EV drivers such as $1 more per trip up to $4,000 annually. They’ve also negotiated discounts for drivers on leading EV models and special deals on charging. And their latest partnership with Hertz will make up to 50,000 fully electric Teslas available for eligible drivers to rent by 2023. This is the largest expansion of EVs on a mobility platform in North America, marking another step towards Uber’s zero-emissions goal.
*Trips that start in New York City and orders that are delivered to customers in New York City are excluded. On March 1, drivers in New York City received a 5.3% increase to the city’s mandated minimum earnings standard, which accounts for increased operating costs, and the vast majority of NYC delivery workers use bicycles, not cars.
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