HARTFORD – Xavier Fontanez, a full-time rideshare driver who lives in New Haven, starts his days at 5 a.m. He works until 2 p.m., breaks long enough to pick up his daughters from school and drop them at home, then continues driving until 9 p.m.
Fontanez, who has been working as a driver for five years, said he used to make $300 to $400 a day. But since the pandemic, he said, prices have been dropping. Now, according to Fontanez, a long day of driving earns him about $200.
“They’ve lowered the prices five, six times already,” said Fontanez.
Multiple drivers gathered outside of the Capitol on Wednesday echoed Fontanez’s experience, saying that over the last few years they had watched the amount they were able to earn on apps like Lyft, Uber and Doordash drop further and further. Many were members of the nonprofit Connecticut Drivers United, a coalition of delivery drivers started in 2020.
James Delewski, a rideshare driver from Southington, told CT Examiner that he used to be able to get $50 for a trip from Greenwich to New York City. Now, he said, the same trip will earn him $25 — although the customers are still paying the same amount.
“My rent’s due tomorrow. I made $34 yesterday in four hours,” said Delewski.
A bill being heard in a public hearing on Wednesday would try to address this by setting a minimum wage for drivers that work for rideshare apps and delivery services. Transportation companies like Uber and Lyft and delivery companies like DoorDash and GrubHub will...
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