SAN ANTONIO – Some app-based delivery drivers are rethinking if it’s worth continuing in that line of work as gas prices hit record highs.
Joseph Klappenger has been making ends meet for five years delivering food for five different app companies and several different rideshare companies.
“I was using this to pay for certain necessities like insurance and, you know, gas money, smaller bills that I had. But now I just don’t do it anymore because it’s not profitable for me at all,” he explained.
Gas prices have gone up so much in two weeks Klappenger says it’s not even worth getting out of the driveway.
“The Honda would take me exactly $25 to fill up to go 400 miles. Now, it only gets me about half a tank,” he said.
Klappenger said if prices don’t go down in two months, he will give up driving for those app-based companies. He says food deliveries and rideshare is a luxury for many, and with costs going up, many are taking the bus or cutting back on extra expenses.
Greg Webber delivers pizzas for Poppy’s Pizza.
“I pay my own gas out of my own pocket,” he said.
Webber has noticed some of their regular customers are being more generous with tips to offset costs.
“It’s work. You have to have gas up. If you don’t have gas, you can’t work,” he said.
While some app delivery companies raise prices to offset the costs, some drivers say those companies also take a larger percentage, still leaving them short.
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