Higher Gas Prices Pump Dollars from Workers’ Pockets
Susan Romaine interviews motorists filling up at a Carrboro gas station who highlight worries over rising gasoline prices
Since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28, gasoline prices around the country and here in North Carolina have been soaring. For the first time in four years, the national average price for a gallon of gas tops $4.50, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). In North Carolina, it is well over $4. That’s an extra dollar per gallon since the end of February.
The hefty jump at the pump is causing many local motorists to wince. With each trip to the gas station, hard-earned dollars are being pumped right out of their pockets. A lot of dollars.
“I’m hyperaware about the higher gas prices,” explained Mary, a graduate student at University North Carolina-Chapel Hill who works 50 hours/week to support herself. In February, she paid $30 to fill up her tank. Now it’s closer to $45. Higher gas prices mean less money for groceries, a utility bill, or a car note. “I’ll get by, but barely,” she shared.
Other local motorists are saving a few dollars at the gas pump by downgrading their fuel selection. James lives in Durham and commutes each day to his job in Chapel Hill delivering mail for the United States Postal Service. While it used to cost $35 to top off his 2017 SUV, it’s now $55 or $60. To soften the blow, James switched from Supreme to Extra. It helps. At the grocery store, he substitutes store brands for name brands, and canned vegetables for fresh ones. “The higher gas prices are making it more expensive for me to get to my job, which already barely pays enough to support my family,” said James.
The sticker shock for Mary, James and other drivers can be explained by Economics 101, Supply and Demand curves. Throughout this war of choice, Iran has blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which flowed one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. As supply falls, gasoline and diesel prices rise – especially diesel, which ticks up faster because of its close ties to freight and industrial demand.
Small businesses in the area have been quick to pivot. Conrad lives in Burlington and works for Durham-based Y & J Furniture Company. When diesel prices first jumped, the furniture renovation company replaced its diesel trucks with gasoline-powered ones. “We had no choice,” said Conrad. “We had to make a change.”
Landscaping businesses with clients across the Triangle are also adjusting to the higher gas prices. Jose from Chapel Hill-based Tarheel Turf Services spends roughly $200/week to fuel his truck so he can service clients in Apex, Chapel Hill, Durham, Pittsboro, and Raleigh. He also pays for gas to power his lawn mower, trimmer, and leaf blower. To save a few dollars at the pump, Jose is very attentive to the daily changes in gas prices at stations across the Triangle. He also looks for creative ways to pass on a portion of his higher gas costs to the customer (i.e. charging $30 for a yard of mulch that costs him $25 to purchase). The textbook definition of inflation.
“Donald Trump promised lower prices when he was elected,” Jose noted. “He promised lower food prices, lower gas prices. He promised he would make people happy. He would help small businesses. But Donald Trump is doing nothing for us. He is only focused on what makes him happy.”
While landscapers are feeling the pain at the pump, drivers who make a living through ride-hailing apps like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have been hit especially hard. It can be a challenge for gig drivers to make a decent living in the best of times, but when gas prices go up — as they have, sharply, since this reckless war of choice started — gig drivers are often hit first and hardest.
Sure, the companies they work for are offering gas discounts such as a percentage off through a company debit card, or cash back through Upside, a rewards app. These discounts, however, are not nearly enough to offset drivers’ higher costs at the pump, which can be hundreds of dollars a month. “If we don’t get a good tip,” Walter Colvin, a DoorDash driver in Raleigh, said on ABC 11 Raleigh-Durham, “it’s not really worth [it] now with the current prices of gas.”
What would make it worthwhile is a gas surcharge. In 2022, when the war in Ukraine caused gas prices to spike for a few months, ride-hailing companies imposed a temporary gas surcharge. Lyft’s surcharge, 55 cents per ride, went straight to the driver. In 2026, with the war in Iran causing another spike in gas prices, neither Lyft nor Uber plan to restore a temporary fuel surcharge and neither plan to increase prices. Instead, they are asking gig drivers to bear the brunt of the pain.
This leaves gig drivers with three less-than-ideal options: stop working and sacrifice income, keep driving but with slimmer profit margins, or add more driving hours to help cover the additional cost of gas. Many drivers are waiting it out, hoping gas prices will make a U-turn soon. Even when Trump’s war ends, though, there is no guarantee of immediate relief from rising prices due to widespread disruptions in global supply chains. As was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, these floating traffic jams in the Strait of Hormuz may take months or even years to clear so that shipping may move freely and smoothly again. Meanwhile, the midterm elections are fast approaching, and affordability will be front and center on voters’ minds.
