Why So Many Rideshare Drivers Say They Can’t Afford to Work Right Now

With gas topping $4 a gallon, many Uber and Lyft drivers say they’re losing money.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Adobe Stock

There are between 1.5 and 2 million rideshare drivers working in the U.S., and for most of them, it’s becoming difficult to turn a profit. 

Rideshare drivers are responsible for covering their own gas, maintenance, and vehicle costs. But as fuel prices surge, that model is becoming harder to sustain. Without a full tank, drivers can’t work. But increasingly, they can’t afford to fill one either.

For the first time since 2022, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas has climbed above $4, rising more than a dollar in just the past month, according to AAA. In that same period, Americans have spent roughly $8 billion more than usual at the pump, according to GasBuddy.

The spike is being driven in part by global supply disruptions. Following escalating conflict in Iran, roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flowing through the Strait of Hormuz has been impacted, pushing crude prices above $100 per barrel and sending gasoline costs sharply higher.

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For drivers, the effect is immediate.

“I’m working now for rideshare, but I don’t know what that’s going to look like next week. Because if gas is $4 a gallon, I’m done,” Tamira Moncur, a teacher and part-time Lyft driver, told CNN. She recently skipped filling up her tank at an Atlanta-area gas station, worried she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

Others are already stepping back. “I do (rideshares) to make money. And if gas prices keep going up, it’d be foolish to do it,” Leanne Hall, an Uber driver in Las Vegas, told CNN. Hall said she has paused driving altogether because it no longer makes financial sense.

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