The ride-sharing service announced Friday it’s rolling out a fuel surcharge to help its drivers offset the burden of higher gas prices for at least the next two months.
Starting Wednesday, users will pay an extra $0.45 or $0.55 per trip and an additional $0.35 or $0.45 for Uber Eats, depending on the location. Uber said all the money from the surcharges will go to the drivers.
The price surcharge will be in place for at least 60 days, Uber said, and the company will continue monitoring gas prices and consumer and driver sentiment. Uber noted the surcharge isn’t meant to cover the entire cost of gas, but rather to “soften the burden.”
“This raise helps keep the city’s promise to keep app drivers out of poverty wages and on the path to a dignified and secure living,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in a statement. “We all know the price of basic needs, like bread and milk, have gone up, and, for drivers, so have operating costs, like fuel and repairs.”
Uber reaffirmed its commitment to electric vehicles, saying it’s the best way to avoid skyrocketing gas prices in the long term. The company gives incentives of up $1 per trip up $4,000 annually to EV drivers and it has partnered with Hertz to make as many as 50,000 fully electric Teslas available for eligible drivers to rent by 2023.
“We are seizing this moment to bolster our efforts to help more drivers make the switch to electric vehicles,” Winship said.