Gas prices have always fluctuated but have had spikes more dramatically throughout 2021. Gas prices may be affected by oil prices, gasoline supply and gasoline demand. This heightened price has placed intense pressure on available supplies. 2021 gas prices are at the highest national average since 2014. In some places, Americans are paying more than $5 per gallon of gas. Whatever the reasoning may be behind this, it is inevitably affecting gig workers like never before.

The gig economy is growing with each year, and there are constantly more and more platforms being created for gig workers to make money. The money people make through apps like Lyft, Uber, UberEats, Doordash, and others are affecting the income of gig workers due to the heightened gas prices. Because of this astonishing rise, gig workers are faced with two questions: drive more to make up for the cost of gas or drive less to waste less money on filling up their tanks at such prices. The answers are determined by several individual factors.

Most of the freelance work these people do involve them driving in the car most of the time. If the wages they make from these apps don’t go up when the gas prices do, they are losing more money than they are making. If you are a gig worker, check your company’s resources they may offer as an incentive for this issue.

Pro Tip: read the article “Best Ways to Save Money on Gas” written by uber drivers themselves.

These apps are providing useful services for people all over the world, and gig workers are essential in making it possible.