Gig Drivers Cut Shifts as Gas Prices Surge 30% on Middle East Conflict

Working Americans who rely on Uber and Lyft to put food on the table are watching their already thin margins evaporate as fuel prices continue their relentless climb following the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Drivers across the country report spending hundreds of extra dollars each month just to keep their cars on the road, with ride-hailing giants offering little more than token discounts that do nothing to address the core problem.

John Mejia has driven for both Lyft and Uber in the Oakland area for more than ten years. A few weeks ago he could fill his hybrid for about $36. Now the same tank costs him $60. His response has been simple and telling: he drives less. At the staging lot for rideshare drivers at San Francisco International Airport, Mejia now sits and waits rather than burning fuel chasing fares in the surrounding area. “I don’t want to waste the gas, because I can’t afford it,” he said. The higher costs, he explained, come directly out of what the apps pay him.

That sentiment is repeated in cities from Boston to Los Angeles. Prisell Polanco, an eight-year veteran driver in the Boston area, says he is spending an additional $300 a month on fuel alone with no corresponding increase in what the companies pay per ride. “Every year we get paid less and less money for the same ride,” Polanco told reporters. “That forces you to work even harder just to stay even.” Many drivers are now piecing together other gigs or second jobs simply to cover the shortfall created by Washington’s foreign policy decisions.

The numbers tell a brutal story. Average national gas prices have surged from $2.98 a gallon at the end of February to well above $4 today. That 30 percent jump stems directly from disruptions caused by the war, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Even with a fragile ceasefire now in place, the economic damage is already moving through the system. Oil price shocks do not stay confined to the pump. Fertilizer prices have spiked as much as 50 percent ahead of planting season. Farmers facing those costs often respond by scaling back production or planting fewer acres. The result, months from now, will be tighter supplies and higher grocery bills for families already struggling.

The pain extends beyond transportation. Natural gas, which generates about 43 percent of America’s electricity, is also feeling the pressure. Families can expect those costs to show up in their utility bills soon. Manufacturing inputs from plastics to electronics are becoming more expensive, costs that inevitably get passed on to consumers. Transportation industries including trucking and airlines face the same headwinds. What began as a foreign conflict is quietly reshaping the price of almost everything ordinary Americans need to survive.

Uber and Lyft have responded with expanded rewards and discounts tied to their financial services products. Drivers describe these measures as insulting. The companies classify their workers as independent contractors, meaning drivers shoulder the full burden of vehicle payments, maintenance, insurance, and now dramatically higher fuel costs. Meanwhile the apps continue to take their cut without adjusting base pay to reflect the new reality. One driver called the company assistance “pretty hollow” compared to what an actual raise would mean.

This is not an abstract economic debate. These are people who wake up before dawn to sit in airport lots or drive through city traffic hoping to clear enough after expenses to make the effort worthwhile. Many entered gig work precisely because traditional employment options dried up or failed to provide flexibility. Now even that lifeline is being squeezed by forces entirely outside their control.

The Washington Examiner and other outlets have noted that Congress could provide immediate relief by suspending the federal fuel tax. Such a move would not solve the underlying supply problems created by the conflict, but it would stop the government from actively piling more pain onto working families at the exact moment they can least afford it. Every dollar taken in federal gas taxes right now is a dollar pulled from the pockets of drivers, delivery workers, and small business owners already reeling from the price surge.

The ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran remains shaky. The Strait of Hormuz has reopened, yet markets remain on edge and the full ripple effects have yet to reach most American households. What drivers like Mejia and Polanco are experiencing today is only the leading edge of broader inflation that threatens to drive up food, electricity, and consumer goods in the months ahead.

For the men and women who keep the rideshare economy moving, the choice is increasingly stark: burn more gas to try to maintain income and lose money on every trip, or cut back miles and watch earnings collapse. Neither option is sustainable. While foreign policy makers debate the next steps overseas, American workers are left paying the bill at home. The question now is whether Washington will recognize the damage its decisions have caused before the pain spreads even further.