Uber is adding a “temporary fuel surcharge” to fares to help drivers pay record gas prices across the country, the company announced Friday. “Rides customers will pay a surcharge of $0.45 or $0.55 on each Uber ride, and Eats customers will pay $0.35 or $0.45 on each Uber Eats order, depending on their location,” said Liza Winship, chief driver operations officer for Uber. Uber in the US and Canada. , said in a blog post.
The entire surcharge will be passed on to drivers and the plan is for the surcharge to be in place for the next 60 days. However, Winship cautions that “we will continue to monitor gasoline prices and may make additional changes.” And this temporary fuel surcharge will apply even for trips or deliveries made in an electric vehicle, “which we hope will serve as an additional incentive for drivers to transition to electric vehicles in the future,” says Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield. the edge.
In his blog post, Winship listed some of the benefits of Uber electric vehicles, including higher earnings for drivers using battery electric vehicles, a $6,000 discount on a Nissan Leaf, and discounts on charging for some vehicles. But a fuel surcharge and the benefits of electric vehicles may not be enough to completely avoid the sting of higher gas prices. Like my colleague Andy Hawkins wrote todayElectric vehicles are still out of reach for many due to factors such as supply chain constraints, low inventory and high prices. And because there are many reasons gas prices have risen, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they could remain high for some time.