As an independent contractor in the gig economy, I get hit with different scenarios all the time. Everyday, different compromises and decisions have to be made so that my production can help to maximize my daily and weekly earnings potentials, so that I can make enough to provide for myself and my family, financially.

Sometimes, I get hit with probabilities that get in the way of that. For instance: living with and caring for someone with disabilities certainly cannot allow me all the time in the world to devote to sitting in and driving my car for up to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. That's just unrealistic, right? Also, rising gas prices and inflation at grocery and retail stores means I'm gonna have to somehow cut back on aspects of my traveling and commuting, and somehow live on unhealthier foods that are less expensive to my bottom dollar.

I'm going to tell you of a scenario that I went through with regard to one of these gig trips that I'd completed. I want to see if any awareness can come from your learning of it. I'm also going to be posting this concern to my social media outlets to raise awareness to other gig drivers out there, as it may concern them as well.

On Sunday, March 13th, 2022, I'd completed a Houston to Dallas trip for two passengers through one of the ride booking app platforms that I partner with, from time to time. From the point of pick up in Houston to the first drop off in Dallas, the second drop off in Richardson, then my return trip back to Houston, the trip was best estimated on Google Maps to've ran me 7 hours and 40 minutes, and 520 miles. When I got home, I'd calculated my fuel costs in contrast to what I was to be paid for this trip and realized the sad truth of it.

Here is the income breakdown I got from the app upon trip acceptance.

$77.63 to be paid to me for completing the outbound portion of the trip, then another $77.63 for the return trip, all for a combined total of $155.26 of earnings.

For the rest of this, consider that I drive a 2017 Kia Soul that gets an estimated 28-32 miles to the gallon.

I fueled up in Houston before the trip. I thought that to be best practice since it was such a long trip, right? I had to fuel up again in Garland after both passenger drop-offs had been completed. And when I got back to Houston, I had to fill up another two times. Why two??...because one of the stations had limited fuel as they were in the process of refilling, so I had to go elsewhere to fuel the rest of the tank.

This is the rundown of my refueling that day. I have receipts to back it all up, by the way:

In Houston, pre-trip:

3.854 gallons @ $3.959 per gallon = $15.26

In Garland, after passenger drop off:

10.228 gallons @ $4.099 per gallon = $41.92

In Houston, returning:

4.501 gallons @ $3.959 per gallon = $17.82

In Houston, rest of the tank:

6.974 gallons @ $3.959 per gallon = $27.61

Total fuel costs for that days Houston to Dallas/Richardson and back trip, $102.61. Subtract that from the total earnings promised for the trip. I've put on 520+ miles of wear and tear on my vehicle, an estimated 7 hours and 40 minutes of drive time in that one day, only to put $52.65 in my pocket. That's an estimated $7.11 per hour of which that would come out to that I'd just put in work for.

I'm just speaking for myself here. I know that I'm not the only driver feeling the pains of higher fuel costs. I can imagine some drivers get better fuel mileage than I. But I can also imagine that some don't. So, in a way, I'm advocating for those other drivers by laying out my personal experience for all to see.

This isn't the only gig platform I work with. I work with up to 7 others. Most of which involve aspects of transportation or delivery in some way. And what I've noticed from, literally, all of them is that incomes and earnings all across the board of platforms have remained stagnant. All while private sector businesses and employers have, to a varying degree, increased incomes and earnings for their full and part-time employees.

I find this to be rather unfair, as the earnings opportunities in the gig economy have NOT followed suit. Certainly, not while we have inflation going on and rising fuel prices.

I'm reaching out about this to ask: are technology companies that offer platforms for gig work willing to do anything to help its workers or partners out with a better financial scenario than the one I've been hit with? If earnings under these platforms remain this stagnant while the costs of living keep rising, I don't believe I'll continue to see the point in working with any of them until things start looking a little more upward, financially speaking. And I'm sure a lot of drivers and gig workers can agree with me on that.

After submitting my concerns and grievances about this trip to the particular company it was intended for, I got a response back on March 14th that turned my experience a little more sour. Here is that quoted response:

"Hi Jason, thank you for the extremely well though out critique. I appreciate the time and effort you put into your message. In large part, I agree, with rising gas prices there is a need to match that cost in the payment. I am currently working with my team to increase payments and prices to reflect these changes. Rest assured that earnings will not remain stagnant.

That being said I did want to say that your math accounts for a little too much gas here. It's not enough, but I felt like I should mention that you did not simply account for the gas used in the duration of the trip but, rather, maintaining a full tank after the fact. When calculating expenses for a trip, only the gas expended on the trip itself is an actual cost of the trip.

I once again thank you for your criticism, and I will absolutely notify you shortly when we make these changes."

Here is my quoted response:

"So you're saying that it shouldn't be accounted for that I keep a full tank of fuel in my vehicle for such a long trip, 520 plus miles worth? Once such a long trip is completed, I'm going to need fuel for my return trip to get home, right? So that I can continue to produce for platforms such as yours, and all the others that I partner with.

How is it that I'm expected to produce so much, as far as and including tacking on wear and tear on the value of my property (automobile), if I can't respectfully expect to be compensated with enough profit from the endeavor, so as to continue to do so?

If I can't be paid enough to keep a full tank for long-haul trips, I can't continue to make long-haul trips. I end up losing more money than I stand to make. This is why your pay structure is a little nonsensical."

These companies that have developed and are operating these gig platforms are seriously out of touch with the people that partner with them for work. Evidence of this is shown in their ad campaigns. For instance, Uber and Lyft are promising earnings potentials of up to $30 an hour in my city on particular days of the week. What they're not accounting for are all of the uncontrollable things like traffic, and wait times, and inclement weather, and market over-saturation. All things that majorly play against your ability to draw in the kind of income they keep promising you could make. It just isn't realistic.

Something needs to be done, somewhere. It's about time that adjustments were made to better the lives, opportunities, and potentials for us independent contractors that choose to go out and produce for companies who could, frankly, care less about us. It's not fair that everyone else can be provided adequate means to make a living, but not us. Not this industry, or this market.