Lyft's prices increase due to the current skyrocketing oil prices. The added charges will vary depending on customers' destinations and the current oil prices in cities.
Lyft Surcharges
Lyft announced an additional fuel surcharge to its customers. Lyft's fuel surcharge is noted to be imposed temporarily due to the increasing fuel prices brought by the territorial conflict of Russia and Ukraine.
According to the statement released by Lyft, the company stated that they closely monitoring the situation of rising fuel prices, the impact it has on their drivers and community.
As reported by The Verge, Lyft spokesperson CJ Macklin also added, "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. We'll share more details shortly."
Lyft's imposition came after Uber did the same two days ago.
According to Uber's blog post announcing the change, the surcharge for rides will add "either $0.45 or $0.55 to each Uber trip," depending on the rider's geographic location.
Uber's surcharge will be implemented to all types of vehicles, including electric vehicles. Lyft, however, has not yet clarified if their imposed surcharges will have the same coverage as that of Uber's.
Uber Surcharges
Uber, aside from Lyft, also imposed a price increase in their services. The amount of the surcharge will vary from city to city, depending on average trip distances and local gas price increases.
However, Uber stated that the increased surcharge directly goes to the drivers as their way to alleviate the oil price hikes experienced widely in the country.
The implementation of surcharges is also stated to be imposed only temporarily for 60 days. Furthermore, Uber also stated that the company will continue to make additional adjustments depending on the current situation.
Uber Eats customers will be charged a surcharge of $0.35 or $0.45 for each order, depending on the customer's location. On the other hand, Uber Rides customers will be charged a surcharge of $0.45 or $0.55 for each trip.
These additional surcharges will be in effect for at least two months and may be adjusted based on feedback from drivers and couriers, as well as from customers, according to Uber. The fees are being implemented in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Oil Price Hike
As reported by TechCrunch, Russia is one of the world's largest oil exporters, supplying primarily Europe and Asia, both of which have not formally banned Russian oil imports at this time.
In the United States, the surcharges are applied across the board, with the exception of New York City, where drivers received a 5.3% raise on March 1 in accordance with the city's mandated minimum earnings standard, which Uber claims accounts for the increase in operating costs.
According to data from the American Automobile Association, the price of a barrel of oil in the United States has risen above $80 dollars in recent weeks, with the average driver paying approximately $4.325 per gallon on Monday.
The average price in the previous year was $2.859. Drivers in states such as California, which has the highest taxes in the country, are paying an average of $5.744 per gallon.
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