DETROIT - High gas prices have led Wallace Reed to seek a new career.
Reed, who drives Uber and Elevator in New York, charges his Lexus at least three times a week. He pays about $ 95 each time, about twice as much as he paid last year. To make up for that, he drives more often, but he also applies for other jobs that would not require his car.
“It’s more hours, more stress,” he said. “New York is not a city that is easy to work with and affects our lives.
Reid is not alone. Millions of Americans who rely on their cars at work are changing their habits, signing up to park their cars or even leaving their cars for bicycles because gasoline prices recently dropped $ 5 a gallon for the first time ever. This week, it averages $ 4.95 per gallon nationwide, up from $ 3.06 per gallon a year ago, according to AAA.
Some help might be on the way. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden asked Congress to suspend federal gas taxes for three months, which would reduce the price of gas by 18.4 cents per gallon. He also called on states to suspend their own gas taxes.
But in the meantime, gas is burdening budgets.
Jace Schumacher-Galloway struggled over whether to charge more for the Paws and Whiskers Sitters, her pet-keeping business in Macomb, Illinois. She visits as many as 10 houses every day and charges her Mazda CKS-3 from 2018 almost every week. One recent charge cost her almost $ 50.
She finally acted this month. She contacted her clients and told them to cancel the 10% discount she always gave to regular customers.
Shoemaker-Galloway, who is also the author of children’s books, said that her customers have understanding. But she worries that gas prices will affect her business in other ways.
“Costs don’t just affect my end result,” she said. “Because the price of everything is so expensive, people are reducing consumption that is not necessary, which means keeping pets and selling books.
During a normal flight, Orvilia Nieto could travel to the camp where she lives in Little, Texas. But that may not happen this year. She is struggling to fill the tank of her 2008 Ford Expedition SUV so she can get a job at the TJ Makk distribution center in San Antonio, about 20 miles away.
Nieto and her associates exchange advice on where gas is cheapest. Sometimes you drive or fill the tank only halfway, which still costs more than $ 50. But she feels happy. A handful of colleagues in her shift, which ends at 2:30 a.m., ride their bikes home in the dark.
“It was a difficult road,” she said. “It would be easier to live in the city, we could take a bus, but at the end of the shift at 2:30 in the morning, which bus line is available?”
Jill Chapman, a senior performance consultant for Insperity, a Texas-based human resources and employment company, said gas prices and travel lengths are increasingly obstacles for job candidates. Chapman said companies might want to consider temporary bonuses, public transportation incentives or gas cards to help their employees.
“The business owner needs to acknowledge that there is stress associated with rising gas prices,” Chapman said.
David Lewis, executive director of Operations Inc., a Norwegian-based human resources consulting firm in Connecticut, recalls handing out gas cards to his employees in 2009 when gas prices were above $ 4 a gallon. But this time they won’t do it because employees have another option: work from home.
“This is an undesirable development for those companies that are trying to bring people back to the office,” Luis said. “That is another reasonable reason why these employees are being rejected.
Lewis has about 100 employees in Norwalk. Prior to COVID, 85% of them were in the office at least two days a week. Now there are maybe 25% of them. Lewis - and many of his clients - would like to see more employees in the office, but say gas prices are a huge obstacle.
“If you are a company that requires everyone to come all the time, then you are a party,” he said.
Psychology professor Brian Cesario lived within walking distance of the college where he teaches. But last year he moved 55 miles to Hopewell Junction in New York City so he could afford a bigger home for his growing family.
Cesario taught at a distance even before the pandemic and assumed he would continue to do so. But last fall, his college began requiring him to drive to campus twice a week, which now costs him $ 240 for fuel each month. Cesario said that he is not earning enough to make up for it, so he is looking for a completely remote job outside the academic community.
For those who have to travel to work, there may be options. On Tuesday, Uber announced that it was returning reduced joint rides to nine American cities this summer, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Organizations that connect carriers - such as the one led by the Southeast Michigan Government Council in the Detroit area - say they see significantly more participants.
Some even find solutions in their own garage. Pame Viens and her husband - both histotechnologists who prepare tissue in medical institutions - have replaced vehicles because his journey is longer. Now, he drives her 2016 Volkswagen Passat, and she drives his 2022 Dodge Ram.
“I’m only 5’1.” I slammed my forehead against the side mirror, she said with a laugh. “But I’m getting used to it.”
But others say they just have to work hard. Brian Shell, an Uber driver in Tampa, Florida, pays $ 75 each time he fills his Volkswagen Atlas.
“You can make money, but you have to work, work, work,” Shell said. He recently took on a side business, driving some customers from Florida to Virginia for extra money.
Uber says it understands that drivers are feeling the damage due to high gasoline prices and added a 45 to 55 cent surcharge on all trips in March to cushion the blow. But both Reid and Scheall say concert companies should do much more.
“There is no difference at all. It’s like a grain of sand, “Reed said about the surcharge.