Delivery company DoorDash says it will refund its drivers 10% of their gas purchases

Food delivery company DoorDash said it will refund drivers 10 percent of their U.S. gas purchases to help offset soaring costs at the pump as prices hit a record $4.43 per gallon this week. 

The San Francisco-based company said its drivers will earn 10 percent cash back on gas through prepaid Visa debit cards, even when they’re not working on deliveries.

‘Over the last few weeks, prices at the pump have increased all across the world, and for Dashers who deliver by car, this economic reality presents unique and unprecedented challenges,’ the company said in a statement on Tuesday.  

Unlike Uber, which announced a surcharge of 45 cents for a ride and 35 cents for UberEats deliveries, DoorDash said it was not passing the buck to customers.

‘We know Dashers aren’t the only ones facing pain at the pump, and we’re not passing the cost of these programs on to consumers at this time,’ a DoorDash spokesperson told CNBC. 

 

DoorDash said it will refund its drivers 10 percent of their gas purchases to help workers as prices at the pump hit a record $4.43 per gallon this week

California leads the nation in highest gas prices with an average of $5.77 cents per gallon. One gas station in California (above) had prices set at $5.99 per gallon on Tuesday

The company said its delivery drivers would also be eligible for a weekly gas bonus if they complete more frequent deliveries. 

‘Dashers who accept and complete orders totaling 100 miles in a motor vehicle will earn an extra $5,’ the company said, adding that the cash back and bonus program will begin on Wednesday and last ‘at least through April.’ 

The news was a sign of relief for Art Valencia, an DoorDash driver in Columbus, Ohio, who said he had no plans to slow down on deliveries despite the soaring gas prices. 

‘Paying a little bit extra at the tank isn’t going to hurt me that much,’ Valencia told ABC 6. ‘It’s one or two extra deliveries. It’s an extra 15 minutes or half-hour of my day.’

Valencia, who pays about $61.13 to fill up his car, said the increasing gas prices has changed how drivers pick up delivery requests as they calculate how much they stand to make against how much gas they’ll need to buy. 

‘It’s strategic planning. How is this going to best benefit me? If I have to drive six miles even though It’s only two miles away from the restaurant. I am spending a lot of time and gas just to do a short order,’ he said.

San Francisco DoorDash driver Rondu Gantt echoed the need for drivers to calculate their cost-benefits, especially in California, which leads gas prices at $5.77 per gallon. 

Gantt told ABC 7 that he’s now considering something drastic: ‘Not drive anymore and take other jobs because of how high gas prices are? Of course. Without an increase in our pay. Nobody is that dumb.’ 

Gig delivery drivers said DoorDash, Uber and Lyft’s changes would help, but would not do enough to ease the cost of soaring gas prices

Other drivers have noted that the cash back rewards program does not do enough to help and comes with the caveat that drivers have to sign up for a DasherDirect card, which diverts earnings from their main back accounts.  

Uber’s surcharge will also go into effect on Wednesday, with all the money going directly to drivers, the company said. It added that the new fee isn’t meant to cover the entire cost of gas, but to ‘soften the burden.’ 

The surcharge will be in effect for at least 60 days, after which Uber said it will assess gas prices and driver sentiment.

The surcharges are based on the average trip distance and the increase in gas prices in each state, Uber said.

‘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 Uber US and Canada, said in a statement. 

Rival Lyft said it would be implementing a similar surcharge, but did not specify how much the charge would be.  

Many on social media have called on customers of the gig driver economy to provide adequate tips to help the workers hits hard by the soaring gas prices.  

One Twitter user with the handle EdythVoidling wrote: ‘If you’re able to, remember to doordash something today and tip aggressively. If someone is door dashing with these gas prices they are gonna need it.’ 

Another Twitter user with the name Seth echoed the plea, tweeting, ‘If you ordering doordash u better be tipping at least $5-7 with these gas prices.’ 

A Twitter user with the handle SpadeTheGhost added, ‘Gas prices way to high for this nonsense, customers gotta tip or its gonna get spooky.’ 

Michael Roady, another Twitter user, was much more frank, writing, ‘If you don’t tip your doordash driver when gas prices are this bad you deserve the worst fire pit in hell.’   

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