Delivery drivers feel the hurt caused by higher gas prices

JACKSON, Tenn. — Whether it is regular mid-grade or premium, everyone is feeling the effects of increased gas prices.

And with the rise of prices at the pump, we could be seeing a rise in price in other areas of our everyday lives.

“In the past month, as you know, gas prices have pretty much doubled, and we get a certain amount of fuel allowance, and I’m getting about half as much gas for the same amount of money. So it’s kind of a struggle,” said Samuel Doakes, who works for Jet’s Pizza.

The rise in gas prices is causing many people to save as much gas as possible by driving less. However, for some driving is a part of their daily work routine.

“We have a delivery charge on our deliveries and it’s $4.50. And when people see that, they assume it goes to the driver, but we don’t get that for the cost of doing business and we get a small percentage of that,” Doakes said.

Doakes has been working at Jet’s Pizza for three years, and he says gas prices have never affected him as much as it has in the past couple of weeks.

“It affects the way people tip, and now that the boss is going to be raising our fuel allowance, he’s going to have to raise that delivery charge, which means more people assume that we’re getting that and tip less,” Doakes said. “Basically my job relies on tips to make a livelihood.”

With less tips, this makes Doakes’ job harder, causing him to spend more money than he makes.

“In the past week they’ve gone up 40, 50, 60 cents a gallon at any given gas station. So yeah, because I’m paying money to work, you know, I should be making money and it’s costing me money to work,” Doakes said.

Not only are local drivers feeling the effects, but so are other delivery services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and even ride share apps like Lyft.

Both Lyft and Uber have decided to partner with “GetUpside,” a platform that helps drivers save 25 cents at the pump.

But for drivers for local restaurants, they heavily rely on customer tips.

“It’s a pretty easy job, but there’s a lot to it. I think the best way that our customers could help the drivers is to be more thoughtful and tip them,” Doakes said.

If you see cheaper gas prices around the area, let us know here.