NEW YORK (PIX11) — App-based drivers say rising fuel costs in New York City are crippling their livelihoods and their industry has been slow to bounce back from the pandemic, forcing them to work longer but make less.

At the beginning of March, the city gave Uber and Lyft drivers a roughly 5.3% raise on minimum rates, but drivers say that’s not enough to make up for inflation.

“Closer to 40% of driver earnings are going just to cover the cost of gasoline. What about food and rent? Day-to-day life?” Bhaivari Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Drivers Alliance, said.

Last week, app and taxi drivers called on city leaders to add a 75-cent fuel surcharge to every ride.

“With the stroke of a pen, Mayor Adams can make this right,” Desai said.

On Tuesday, the Justice for App Workers Coalition is staging a caravan across the Brooklyn Bridge to Uber’s Midtown offices. The coalition represents 100,000 New York drivers and delivery workers. 

They want Uber to take less of a cut and impose a small surcharge on passengers – something Uber and Lyft have done in most cities, but not New York.