Surge in gas prices pushing ride-hailing, taxi drivers on edge: ‘Very difficult’

With record-high fuel costs, drivers for ride-hailing apps are spending more to fill up their tanks and having to work longer hours on the road.

Record-high gas prices in Canada are driving concerns for taxi and ride-hailing app workers across the country, with many struggling to make ends meet.

The Canadian national average for gas prices has surpassed $2 per litre for the first time ever this year, according to GasBuddy and the CAA. That means drivers are spending more to fill up their tanks and working longer hours on the road.

Earla Phillips, a long-time Uber and Lyft driver in Toronto, said before the gas price hike kicked in, half a tank on her sedan costing $30 would get her through the day. Now, she finds herself spending $50 and working extra hours to make up the difference.

“It’s been very difficult,” Phillips told Global News.

“Almost doubling of the cost to operate with gas prices mean that we’re … getting paid a lot less than we were just a year ago — and that’s really hard,” she said.

Linda Caswell, who started driving for Uber Eats in February as a side gig to make some extra money, said she is earning almost half of when she first began.

With the depleted earnings, Caswell is now considering spending less time on the road and looking for other at-home remote options to help pay her debt faster.

“It’s just really disheartening,” the municipal worker from Mississauga told Global News.