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Uber Technologies Inc. is tacking on a fuel surcharge to rides and food-delivery orders in a bid to ease drivers’ fuel bills amid record-high prices.
Uber will apply a fee of 45 cents or 55 cents per trip for rides and 35 cents or 45 cents for Uber Eats delivery orders for the next 60 days, the San Francisco-based company said on Friday.
The surcharge will depend on location and trip length with “100% of that money going directly to workers’ pockets,” Liza Winship, head of driver operations in the U.S. and Canada, said.
“Our hope is that this temporary measure will help ease the burden, but we’ll continue to listen to feedback and may make changes in the future.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has suffused the oil market with fresh volatility, pushing up gasoline prices across the U.S. to levels higher than during the financial crisis in 2008. On Friday, daily average gas prices climbed to $4.33 a gallon in the U.S., the highest on record, according to the American Automobile Association. In California, where drivers pay some of the highest prices at the pump, the average has jumped to US$5.72, AAA data show.
Uber’s move helps provide some relief to drivers, who have seen their earnings squeezed by the rising cost of fuel. But customers will feel the pinch.
Uber said the surcharge will be rolled out nationwide except for New York City, where drivers already received a 5.3% bump to mandated minimum earnings as a result of rising operating costs.
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