‘It’s not worth it’: rising gas prices force drivers to work for less than minimum wage
By Tuesday afternoon, Lyft driver Elida Zabaleta had earned $100 in the five hours she spent ferrying passengers across the city of San Jose. With gas prices in California surging, she’d have to use more than half of that to cover fuel for the day, leaving her with just $45.
The rising cost of gas has made a difficult job all the more difficult, Zabaleta said, forcing her to spend more time behind the wheel to earn enough to afford living in one of the country’s most expensive cities.
US gas prices have reached record highs in recent weeks, surging in part by the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after already having been high for months. California drivers are paying the most of any in the country, at an average of $5.57 a gallon, according to AAA.
Rising prices are hitting gig workers particularly hard as fuel makes up a large part of their daily costs. Uber and Lyft drivers already struggling after the pandemic hit both wages and working conditions say paying more at the pump means they have to spend more time driving in order to achieve the same level of pay. Some are spending more than 60 hours a week working, and some say driving is simply no longer profitable.
Zabaleta, who has driven for Lyft for two years, paid $5.20 a gallon to fill up this week. Meanwhile, factoring in the cost of gas, her income came out to about $9 an hour, far below San Jose’s $16.20 minimum wage. Zabaleta routinely spends as many as 50 hours a week behind the wheel, giving herself just one day off, and is working more to cover the increasing costs.
Even before gas prices started rising, pay was becoming increasingly unpredictable driving for Lyft, she said. She previously drove five days a week, but with fewer passengers during the
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