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Uber drivers feeling 'hopeless' as gas prices hit new record highs

San Diego's average price per gallon was $6.29 for regular gas Tuesday, according to AAA.

SAN DIEGO — The soaring cost of gas is putting a pinch on rideshare drivers. 

On Tuesday the average cost for regular gas per gallon in San Diego County hit a new record at $6.294, according to AAA

"It gets kind of hopeless feeling at times. You have no control over what next week is going to be or what the week before was. There's a helpless feeling I see," said Uber driver, John Musumeci.

He has driven for Uber for the past four years. He said he is spending twice as much money on gas, around $260 per week and rideshare drivers pay for all their gas out-of-pocket.

"I've gone from working four days a week to six days a week, fifty hours or so just to survive," he said.

It's a job that he says used to be profitable but now it's getting hard to make ends meet.

"No one seems to see an end in sight. Or you hear the news, and they say it's going up until September and I'm like well by September I might be homeless," Musumeci said.

He, like many other drivers, is nearing a breaking point.

"I think about it a lot and a lot of the other drivers think about it a lot," he said. "Some have already crossed their limit and others are approaching it."

Uber has tacked on a fuel surcharge that goes to drivers. Riders pay an extra 45 to 55 cents per trip and 35 to 45 cents on each Uber Eats order. 

WATCH RELATED: Average San Diego County gas price drops slightly ahead of Memorial Day weekend (May 2022)

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