Another business has fallen into lockstep with blaming Russia for everything, as Lyft announced that it would be adding a $0.55 gas charge to every ride, to help offset rising gas prices.
Naturally, it also blamed the conflict in Europe for the change and not anything in the domestic political landscape that has shown a steady increase in gas prices for the last 16 months.
“We’ll continue monitoring gas prices, listening to how drivers are being impacted, and finding ways to support them as things evolve,” the San Francisco company said.
The company said on a website announcement that the surcharge will be effective next week, and that all of the money is going directly to its drivers. It added that the move will remain in place for at least the next 60 days.
Oh, it also said that if you ride in an EV… you will still be charged the $0.55 for gas. CoolCoolCool… wait, what?
Like most all temporary government plans it should be fully expected that this change lasts forever because human nature will adjust to this as the ‘new normal’ and folks will forget that it didn’t have to be this way.
The surcharge is, however, not applicable in New York City due to a recent 5.3% increase in the minimum earnings standard for drivers in that area.
Lyft is said to be working to have the surcharge implemented in Nevada, but that the regulatory requirements in the state prevent it.
Additionally, the posts says that Lyft drivers can apply for a Lyft Direct debit card to get an increased 4% to 5% cash back on gas purchases through June 30. The company has also partnered with GetUpside that was aimed to help drivers get cash back on gas purchases.
In case you wondered about how the company was doing, as a whole, well: shares of stock rose 4% Wednesday, so at least investors are being helped while the rest of us make up the slack.
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
