As gas prices remain near all-time highs, several transportation businesses have moved to offset their rise in gas bills for independent contractors with extra charges for consumers. However, workers say they are still not breaking even.
New or higher fuel charges have been imposed on consumers from FedEx Corp., Lyft Inc., and Uber Technologies as Russia's war on Ukraine continues to shock the energy market.
However, some who work with their own FedEx Ground delivery trucks and U.S. ride-share drivers say that companies aren't doing enough to help them break even, leaving many looking elsewhere for work.
The cost of fuel has risen globally since the end of February when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions began falling on the foreign superpower.
A year ago, the price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. was $2.86, and now it sits at $4.11, according to AAA. Prices first began rising in March, hitting as high as $4.22 at one point, shooting up 20% from the month prior.
Drivers like Melnik Lyudmila, who worked for Uber and Lyft until she quit last month, shared with the Wall Street Journal that it was just too much with expenses piling up.
"Everywhere you look is just expenses, expenses, expenses," Lyudmila, who has worked for the companies since 2016, said.
When it comes to what companies have done, Uber and Lyft also added temporary fuel surcharges in mid-March, with riders paying 45 to 55 cents per trip based on their location. The surcharges go straight to the drivers but are fixed and do not adjust for trip length.
Lyft has cited research on its surcharges, saying that drivers are spending on average 57 cents more on gas per hour than a year ago.
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The difficulty for Uber drivers to stay afloat is a polar opposite of what the company saw last year when workers were hard to come by, and it was handing out bonuses. But now, Lyudmila said driving for the company isn't worth the cost to fill her tank.
The price per gallon of diesel was no different, going up 27% from February to March, averaging $5.11 last month, and truck drivers like Timothy Richards admit that "It's been rough."
Richards owns his own truck and has two drivers working for his Tauro Trucking LLC business. He shared with the Journal that shippers don't care about the rising cost for drivers.
"They just want their product moved," Richards said.
Independent FedEx Ground contractors are also feeling the pain, as an online petition has circulated asking for a temporary payment or extra money per stop to make up for the money spent filling their tanks.
FedEx Ground upped its fuel surcharge from 11.75% at the end of 2021 to 16.25% in March. The surcharge will also increase as the company adjusted its surcharge tables, but the petition says it still isn't enough.
"The reality of the current climate is that many [contractors] are on the verge of financial collapse," according to the petition to FedEx executives. "We are in a very serious situation that is going to require immediate action to save these businesses—your business partners."
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