I'm an ex-Wall Street trader who drives for Uber and Lyft. Gas prices have me rethinking which trips I take.

Bill Lewis worked on Wall Street before becoming a full-time ride-hailing driver. Bill Lewis 2026-04-18T09:49:01.241Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. High gas prices due to the war in Iran are hitting many ride-hailing drivers' bottom lines. One driver for Uber and Lyft said he's rethinking which trips he takes because of gas prices. Long trips to remote places look less attractive, Bill Lewis said. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. How do gas prices impact drivers' income? What strategies save gas for drivers? What challenges do hybrid drivers face? Why do drivers avoid long trips now? How do ride-hailing companies support drivers? This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bill Lewis, a ride-hailing driver who lives in Pennsylvania. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration... I live in the Poconos. I used to commute to New York City from here. I was a trader on stock exchanges for 25 years.I started as a clerk and worked my way up. When the algorithms took over the floor, they laid us off. Now, I'm dealing with algorithms again as a driver. I drive for Uber and Lyft absolutely full time — seven days a week, about 75 hours a week. People from out of town need rides, especially on weekends during the summer, but for the most part, I'm taking the same people to work each day.I take between 22 and 28 rides a day. Sometimes, I do long rides to the Allentown airport, but for the most part, I'm within 25 miles of my house every day. Gas is always a huge expense for me. I drive a Prius, but I still fill up six to seven times a week. Before the war in Iran started, a fill-up cost me about $22. Today, it cost me $31 for the same exact tank.I've changed my driving habits to try to save money. Some of my rides take me far out of town to remote places where I might not get a ride back toward home. Now, those trips aren't worth it, because it's going to cost me more in gas to get back into town and claim another ride.I've also started taking back roads when I can. The highway might be four or five minutes quicker, but in my area, taking smaller roads is often more direct and saves miles. If I can save on gas, that adds up after a while. I hope the ride-hailing apps add a gas surcharge to help drivers cover higher costs. That's what they did four years ago when gas prices went up after Russia invaded Ukraine — they charged passengers an extra $0.45 to $0.55 cents per ride. There's not a customer I know who wouldn't understand if the companies did that again.Some weeks, I'd probably make an extra $80 if the apps offered that again. So far, Uber and Lyft have offered cashback on gas through partner apps, or if you use their debit cards, which I don't have. I'm getting by with my hybrid, though, which gets around 50 miles per gallon. If you're driving a regular car that gets 25 to 30 miles per gallon, I don't see how this kind of work is profitable.Do you have a story to share about Uber, DoorDash, or another gig app? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read more stories from gig workers I made $37,000 assembling Ikea furniture last year. It gave me the flexibility to run my own business and farm. I quit driving for Uber after I got a full-time finance job. Ride-hailing took more unpaid work than it used to. I drive for Uber and Lyft as a medical student. It's not the profitable side hustle I expected it to be. I drove for Uber for a decade after leaving my corporate job. Now, I'm looking for alternatives as my pay falls. I've done gig work in all 50 states. Here's how I use apps like Lyft and DoorDash to support my love of travel and food.