Driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price for a gallon of gas has soared to $4.17 nationwide, the highest average price in 14 years. Here in the Bay Area, the price is even higher, hovering around $5.50. While rising gas prices affect nearly every corner of the economy, some of the people feeling the effects most directly are Bay Area ride-hailing and taxi drivers.
Rondu Gantt is a San Francisco resident who drives for Lyft and DoorDash. He says that companies should be paying their drivers more when gas prices spike.
“I think that it’s necessary to increase every driver’s base fare. If you don't want to increase the rate of pay, increase the base fare. Making a $5 minimum would definitely help cover the cap cost,” Gantt said.
While Lyft has not increased base fares or pay rates, it has partnered with a fuel cash-back program called GetUpside where drivers can earn $0.32 in cash back per gallon at certain gas stations, as well as 2% cash back when they use a Lyft debit card. Ride-hailing service Uber also has partnered with GetUpside.
“This program makes it easy for drivers to know where to get the best cash-back savings on gas, meaning more of the money they earn with Lyft can stay in their pockets,” said Zach Greenberger, head of strategic business development and global supply management at Lyft.