Overview:
As Colorado gas prices rise, rideshare drivers and truckers are working longer hours and changing their routes just to break even.
Kyle Davis felt the gas price spike before he saw it in the headlines. The Englewood Uber driver had just returned from a family trip to Utah when he stopped to fill up his SUV in early May.
“I started pumping gas in, and I just watched that number climb,” Davis said. “Like, hold up a minute, why does this say ‘$80’ and I’m still going?”
For Colorado workers who earn a living behind the wheel, rising gas prices are not just an inconvenience. They are taking hours from family time, shrinking take-home pay and forcing drivers to rethink every ride.
As of May 27, AAA listed Colorado’s average price for regular gas at $4.57 per gallon, with diesel averaging $5.43. GasBuddy predicts national gas prices could average $4.80 per gallon this summer.
That new reality hit Davis as he did the math while driving away from the pump. To cover the extra cost of gas, he estimated he would need to work an additional hour and a half. Later that night, Uber notified him that he was approaching the company’s 12-hour limit for consecutive driving.
“I hadn’t seen that notification in a while,” Davis said. “On occasion I would push it because it was a good night. But now I started seeing that notification more frequently.”
The increase is hitting hardest for workers whose income depends on driving: Uber and Lyft drivers, delivery workers, truckers, contractors and commuters who cannot easily switch to transit, remote work or a more fuel-efficient vehicle.
Jonathan Hughes, an energy economist and professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, explained that the conflict between the United States and Iran, particularly Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, an energy chokepoint, is one of the primary drivers of gas price increases.
“The main factor is this disruption to oil supply,” Hughes said. “In a typical year, it’s something on the order of 20 million barrels a day that comes out of the Gulf countries via the Strait of Hormuz.”
While the supply of oil has greatly decreased, Hughes explained that the demand stays relatively the same for a short period of time. People will still go to work, and large amounts of travel are not by discretion.
“Relatively moderate shocks in oil markets can be associated with pretty big changes in price, because these price changes don’t cause people to drive a lot less,” Hughes said. “Because in the short run, there’s only so much you can do. You’re not gonna change your job, you’re not gonna change where you live, you’re not gonna run out overnight and buy an electric vehicle.”
Davis stated that he went from paying approximately $60 to $100 to fill up his tank.
“I usually have to drive an extra two to three hours a night, depending on how busy it is, just to make it up,” Davis explained.
Davis now has to be more selective about the Uber rides he chooses to take. Going outside of Boulder, where he usually drives, carries risks such as getting stuck without a passenger and driving on the highway, which uses more gas.
“It definitely is going to hurt the consumer because they are going to find that drivers are less likely to pull them in,” Davis said.
For Davis, the cost shows up in hours. For Lafayette trucker Hugo Valenzuela, it shows up in profit.
Valenzuela’s semi-truck broke down at the beginning of March. For a couple of weeks, he focused on getting his truck working again. When he returned to the road, he immediately noticed diesel prices had risen.
“I came back on the road, and I noticed they had jumped quite a bit,” Valenzuela said, “almost a dollar. And it just kept climbing every day.”
Valenzuela said back in January and February, filling up his tank from about half would cost around $450. He said now it’s almost $850. To get from Colorado to Texas, he goes through more or less half a tank each way and fills up about four times a week. Valenzuela guessed the increase in gas prices has taken out 30% of his overall profit.
“We were at an average of $3.50 a gallon at the beginning of the year, give or take, versus $5.60 a gallon right now,” Valenzuela said. “But the market for our loads doesn’t reflect that.”
Valenzuela said that the payout for the semi-truckloads he carries has gone up just a small amount, so he’s bringing in about the same amount of revenue as he was before gas prices increased. However, after deducting gas prices, he earns less than he did at the start of the year.
Valenzuela sees good-paying truckloads going up to the east and west coasts but chooses not to take them. He recalls seeing diesel for $8 per gallon in Washington, so Valenzuela now tries to stay within 15 hours of Colorado and transports truckloads to Texas whenever possible, where gas is cheaper.
“I know that the gas prices are crazy, so I just try to stay within a close range,” Valenzuela said. “That way I’m not wasting too much diesel, as well as time and putting my truck through a bunch more hours on the road.”
In conversations with other truckers, Valenzuela stated that everything revolves around the price of diesel.
“Everything’s about the market not being stable,” Valenzuela said, “and that it’s not being fair and the brokers are making their money versus the truckers who are really putting in the work.”
For Davis, Uber driving is still worth it despite the gas prices. Controlling his own schedule allows him to help homeschool his kids and spend time with them. Right now Davis drives Wednesday through Saturday. But Davis said if the gas prices continue to increase, he may have to consider adding Monday to his driving schedule.
“Monday is a huge family day for us,” Davis said. “We have Sunday and Monday together.”
Davis’ family often have Minecraft Sundays, where they play survival mode together. But on Monday, they have a family meeting and do budgeting for food. For Davis to drive on Mondays too would take away one of the days he spends with his family.
“You’ll see these kinds of challenges pop up for the working family,” Davis said, “where they have to figure out, ‘Okay, how can we increase our income to stave off going backwards or to try and get back to the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to?’”
For now, other parts of Davis’ budget are becoming tighter as well. They’ve cut down on streaming services and changed the way they shop for groceries.
“We’ve had to go more off-brand from the store,” Davis said. “Instead of buying the stuff that’s on-brand and tastes better. Where we shop, we can’t do as much Whole Foods. We’ve had to move into more processed stuff because it’s cheaper and more affordable.”
Valenzuela realized other parts of his family’s budget would have to change after paying his bills, like insurance, mortgage, and his kids’ soccer.
“It’s frustrating, but I just can’t sit there and complain either,” Valenzuela said. “I just have to keep hauling. I got a family to take care of, and my truck needs repairs, so I have no choice.”
Along with the cost of gas, Valenzuela said the price of everyday necessities is going up as well.
“Everything as far as groceries and clothing, eating out,” Valenzuela said. “We cut back on a lot of things because of it.”
Valenzuela’s family has cut down on expensive groceries and focused on essential products and good deals. He lamented that his personal vehicle, a V8 truck, recently broke $100 at the gas pump for the cheapest unleaded fuel.
“I was like this is ridiculous,” Valenzuela said. “Every time you step away from your house, you’re losing money, no matter what you’re doing.”
The increase in gas prices has made money tighter. Valenzuela wonders about what will happen if his truck breaks down again. How would he come up with the money he needs to support his family? He feels like the gas prices are out of his control.
“I feel a little stuck because it feels like I can’t do anything about it,” Valenzuela said. “I feel like our leaders; I was hoping they were going to make it better.”
Davis hopes Uber can create better working conditions for drivers but doesn’t expect the company to take on the increased cost of the gas. For now, he’ll have to work longer.
“It definitely kind of sucks,” Davis said. “It’s less time at home.”
