As California’s gas prices surge, rideshare drivers want Uber and Lyft to pay more

If there were ever a city to have rideshare and limousine driver influencers, it would be Los Angeles.

When he’s not driving for Uber, Lyft or his own company Limowell, Torsten Kunert makes videos for more than 50,000 YouTube subscribers under the name Rideshare Professor.

One problem dominates his comments sections these days: Soaring gas prices and their direct effect on drivers’ take-home pay. He’s among the drivers urging gig economy giants like Uber and Lyft to raise pay because of the increased expenses.

“It’s been a tough last couple of months for drivers,” Kunert said. “The CEOs, the executives, they need to step up. They need to understand high gas prices are real, they’re not disappearing and if they don’t address them, it’s going to cost them a lot of drivers.”

Gas prices skyrocketed across the U.S. over the last two weeks as governments imposed sanctions on Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, over its invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden this week banned Russian oil imports, potentially further squeezing supply.

Prices are especially high in California. The statewide average price per gallon was $5.57 as of Wednesday, nearly 27% greater than the U.S. average, according to AAA.

That climb is being felt by independent contractors who make a living driving others. Kunert filled up his Cadillac Escalade with $100 worth of gas daily for six hours of trips prior to Russia’s invasion. Now it’s closer to $120 per day, he said.

Some of his followers say they have to work two extra hours to make up the difference.

“It’s the No. 1 topic. I read it in all the comments, and I’m making a lot of videos about it because it’s a real issue at the moment,” Kunert said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is planning to work with the state Legislature on a tax rebate for California drivers, he announced in his State of the State address Tuesday night. Rideshare companies have been pressured as well to raise their per-mile rates or give additional incentives.

More than 7,400 people had signed an online petition as of Wednesday afternoon calling on Uber and Lyft to raise pay due to current gas prices. Uber and Lyft in statements to Reuters this week said they were watching rising gas prices, but they haven’t committed to adjust pay.

What Sacramento rideshare drivers earn

Rideshare drivers get paid differently based on location, service and company. An October 2021 informal survey on the Reddit page r/uberdrivers reported Sacramento Uber drivers earned 59 cents per mile and 16 cents per minute, Fresno drivers earned 65 cents per mile and 8 cents per minute and San Francisco drivers got 60 cents per mile and 20 cents per minute. They are not reimbursed for mileage.

USA Today reported Tuesday that people had stopped driving for companies such as DoorDash over the cost of gas, particularly in rural areas where deliveries may be 15 miles or more. One driver interviewed said he was spending 70% of his earnings on gas.

Yet some California Uber and Lyft drivers are actually leaving for DoorDash because food deliveries are easier to plan and more likely to yield tips, Kunert said. He’d like to Uber and Lyft engineers devise flexible payment models for each state that rise and fall according to gas prices.

“If not, it becomes, like, ‘okay, is this worth it or not worth it to drive anymore?” Kunert said.

Advantage to electric car driver

Gabe Ets-Hokin hasn’t much been affected by gas price hikes, though. That’s because Ets-Hokin, an Oakland-based Uber and Lyft driver and senior contributor to a blog called Ride Share Guy, drives a Tesla Model 3. He wants to see more people invest in electric cars.

Uber drivers in all-electric vehicles earn an extra $1 per trip through the company’s Zero Emissions Program, plus an extra 50 cents if passengers choose an Uber Green ride. Hertz rents 2021 Teslas to Uber drivers for $334 per week, a hefty fee that may become more palatable as gas prices rise.

That’s Ets-Hokin’s hope, anyway.

“I’m a little conflicted, because there’s drivers like me with gasoline cars that are feeling a little bit of pain. But then I’m also elated, because this is going to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles among professional drivers, at least the ones that are paying attention,” Ets-Hokin said.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 5:25 AM.