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

Gig workers for Uber and Lyft are absorbing the heaviest blows from the sharp rise in fuel prices triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran, with many reporting hundreds of extra dollars in monthly expenses that the companies have done little to offset. As oil prices spiked after the conflict disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of global supply, average U.S. gasoline costs jumped from $2.98 a gallon at the end of February to more than $4. Drivers classified as independent contractors must cover their own fuel, vehicle maintenance and insurance, turning what should be earnings into a direct hit to their bottom line.

John Mejia, who has driven for both Lyft and Uber in Oakland for more than ten years, said the difference is stark. A fill-up that once cost $36 for his hybrid now runs $60. “I don’t want to waste the gas, because I can’t afford it,” he told reporters at the San Francisco airport staging lot where he now waits for rides rather than burning fuel to hunt for fares elsewhere. Mejia has taken on additional gigs to cover the shortfall, a common story among drivers who say the apps’ pay has steadily eroded even as their costs climb.

In Boston, Prisell Polanco, an eight-year veteran of the platforms, is spending an extra $300 a month on gas alone with no corresponding increase in per-ride compensation. “Every year we get paid less and less money for the same ride,” he said. “That forces you to work even more just to break even.” His experience mirrors reports from drivers across the country who describe the rewards and discounts recently expanded by Uber and Lyft through their financial services apps as inadequate and “pretty hollow.” Both companies have touted these perks, but workers say they amount to little more than a public-relations gesture that fails to address the structural reality of bearing all operating costs without employee protections or guaranteed income.

The war’s economic ripple effects extend far beyond the dashboard. Fertilizer prices have surged as much as 50 percent ahead of planting season, threatening higher grocery bills later this year if farmers cut back on acreage or yields. Natural gas, which generates roughly 43 percent of U.S. electricity, is also under pressure, raising the prospect of higher utility bills for households already squeezed at the pump. Transportation and manufacturing sectors face rising input costs that will likely be passed on to consumers. Even with a fragile ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, analysts warn that the full impact is still working its way through supply chains.

This is not an abstract macroeconomic problem. It is a direct transfer of wartime costs onto working people who had no say in the decision to escalate conflict with Iran. Ride-share drivers, many of them immigrants or people of color cobbling together multiple jobs, sit at the bottom of an economic ladder where corporate platforms extract profits while externalizing risks. Uber and Lyft have spent years fighting legal battles to preserve their contractors’ status precisely to avoid paying for fuel volatility, health care or overtime. Now that volatility has arrived, courtesy of a foreign policy that has once again produced predictable domestic pain.

Conservative voices have called for Congress to suspend the federal fuel tax as immediate relief. That step might provide modest breathing room at the pump, but it does nothing to fix the deeper imbalance in the gig economy or prevent future shocks when geopolitical decisions disrupt energy markets. Drivers like Mejia and Polanco are not asking for charity. They want pay that reflects the true cost of the labor and capital they provide, and an end to the pretense that corporate “innovation” should shield billion-dollar companies from sharing the burdens they create.

The contrast is glaring. While drivers cut back miles to save gas, Uber and Lyft continue to report strong growth in executive compensation and stock performance. The platforms have faced repeated criticism for algorithm-driven pay cuts, opaque tipping policies and pressure to keep drivers on the road longer to meet demand. Fuel price surges simply lay bare what organizers have argued for years: the model only works when workers subsidize it with their own wallets.

As the ceasefire holds uneasily, American families face higher prices at gas stations, supermarkets and eventually their electric meters. The drivers who keep cities moving are among the first and hardest hit, yet their stories rarely make it into the larger conversation about the wisdom of endless Middle East entanglements. For them, the war is not a distant headline. It is an extra $300 a month that forces harder choices about rent, food and whether they can afford to keep driving at all. Until policymakers address both the root causes of energy insecurity and the exploitative structure of gig work, these burdens will continue to fall on those least able to bear them.