Lyft to charge temporary surcharge fee amid rising gas prices

by Sarakshi Rai - 03/14/22 5:08 PM ET

Popular rideshare app Lyft confirmed Monday that it will charge riders a fuel surcharge fee amid rising gas prices across the country.

The company told The Hill in an email that it has been “closely monitoring rising gas prices and their impact on our driver community.”

“Driver earnings overall remain elevated compared to last year, but given the rapid rise in gas prices we’ll be asking riders to pay a temporary fuel surcharge, all of which will go to drivers,” a spokesperson said.

No details were shared on how much riders would be charged. The spokesperson added that the company will share more information soon.

This follows a similar move by Lyft rival Uber, which announced on Friday that it will charge riders a fuel fee to mitigate the impact of rising gas prices.

Uber customers will pay a surcharge of either $0.45 or $0.55 for Uber rides and a surcharge of either $0.35 or $0.45 for Uber Eats orders starting Wednesday. The full amount will go straight to drivers.

“Many people are feeling the sting of record-high prices at the pump — and that’s certainly true of drivers and couriers. While earnings on our platform remain elevated compared to historical trends, the recent spike in gas prices has affected rideshare and delivery drivers,” Uber said in its statement.

The fuel surcharges imposed by Lyft and Uber come as gas prices in the U.S. continued to rise on Monday, with the national average for a gallon of gas reaching a high of $4.325, according to data from AAA. It hit a record high of $4.43 per gallon on average on Saturday.

Certain parts of the U.S. have seen gas prices soar to the high $6 range, including in Los Angeles, where some gas pump prices have almost reached $7 per gallon.

Tags rideshare Surcharge