Lyft to add fuel surcharge citing ‘rapid rise in gas prices’

(NEXSTAR) – Days after Uber announced that it would be implementing a surcharge to help drivers with the crushing cost of gas, rival rideshare company Lyft told Nexstar Monday the company will take similar measures.

“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,” senior communications manager CJ Macklin said in a statement.

How much money riders will have to tack on isn’t yet clear. Macklin said he expects further details to be made public this week.

He added that Lyft has been closely monitoring both the soaring cost of fuel and its impact on drivers in recent days.

On Friday, Uber announced that it would be adding new, temporary fees to help drivers pay for gas.

Uber’s new surcharges will take effect March 16. Depending on location, a fee of $.45 or $.55 will be tacked on to each ride. Uber Eats customers will see an additional $.35 or $.45 added to their bill.

Uber also said that 100% of the surcharge money will go straight to the workers.

“We know that prices have been going up across the economy, so we’ve done our best to help drivers and couriers without placing too much additional burden on consumers,” Liza Winship, head of driver operations for U.S. and Canada, said in a statement Friday. “Over the coming weeks we plan to listen closely to feedback from consumers, couriers and drivers. We’ll also continue to track gas price movements to determine if we need to make additional changes.”

Unlike drivers who can save gas by finding alternate modes of transportation, Uber and Lyft drivers earning a living with their vehicles are especially vulnerable to skyrocketing oil prices. Some have even considered quitting after seeing their wages disappear at the pump.

On Monday, the national average price of a regular gallon of gas in the U.S. was $4.325, according to AAA.