With the cost of gasoline hitting new highs nationwide, life is getting more difficult for employees who need to drive all day for their jobs, including food delivery drivers with apps, such as DoorDash.
“It’s frustrating,” said Caty, a local DoorDash employee who delivers food in Northern Virginia. “It’s almost like they’re wasting my time.”
Caty, who asked that her last name not be used, said that she is “considering quitting altogether” and has started being more picky about the orders she decides to accept.
For example, she said she now tries to only accept food orders that are within 5 miles of her location.
“Sometimes they’ll be like $10 or $11 in orders and they want you drive 15 miles,” Caty said. “It just doesn’t make sense to do that.”
The average price of gasoline in the U.S. hit a record $4.17 per gallon Tuesday as the country banned Russian oil imports after its invasion of Ukraine.
Since Tuesday, according to AAA, the average rose even higher to about $4.30 a gallon.
Energy analysts warned that crude oil prices could go as high to $160 or even $200 a barrel due to oil sanctions imposed by the West or if buyers continue shunning Russian crude. Oil prices that high could send an average gallon of U.S. gasoline past $5 a gallon.
Curbs on Russian oil exports will likely send already soaring oil and gasoline prices higher in both the U.S. and Europe and further squeeze consumers, businesses, financial markets and the global economy.
“This gas hike means that I have to work longer hours,” said Chris Davis, a Maryland DoorDash employee who delivers food in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.
Davis told WTOP that the rising gas prices are causing him to lose “anywhere between $100 and $110 a week.”
“If it keeps rising this is going to be pretty tough to do without an electric car,” Davis said.
Another local DoorDasher, Kaya Suner, is a student at American University who delivers food in D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland.
“When I started DoorDashing it made sense and I was making a profit,” Suner said. “Now it starts to really just feel like you’re working to pay for your gas, and you’re driving around, so it almost feels pointless.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
