Lyft Follows Uber in Adding Surcharge for Rising Gas Prices
Another fuel surcharge is hitting ride-share customers.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Lyft will announce its new pricing soon.
Lyft is adding a temporary surcharge for rides due to rising gas prices, the company confirmed Monday.
"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," Lyft said in an emailed statement.
Each ride will come with a 55 cent surcharge that'll go directly to the driver, Lyft said in a blog post Wednesday, adding that the surcharge will begin next week and continue for at least the next 60 days. Lyft is also offering 4% to 5% cash back on gas through June 30 for drivers who get a Lyft direct debit card.
The announcement comes after rival ride-share service Uber announced a temporary fuel surcharge last Friday. Uber's surcharge will kick in on March 15, adding 45 to 55 cents more per trip and 35 to 45 cents extra for Uber Eats orders. The fee will go directly to drivers.
Neither Uber nor Lyft will apply the surcharge in New York City, where minimum earnings for drivers were increased by 5.3% in early March. Lyft said Nevada also has regulatory rules preventing the surcharge from being applied there for now.
Fuel prices have continued rising rapidly after the US banned Russian oil imports last week in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with demand for fuel outstripping supply. On Wednesday, the US average price was around $4.30 per gallon, according to AAA. The state with the most expensive gas pricing is California, which averaged $5.77 as of Wednesday, followed by Hawaii and Nevada at just over $5.