A driver waits at a stoplight as gas prices starting at $5.39 per gallon for regular grade unleaded gas are displayed at a Chevron gas station in downtown Portland, Ore., on March 16, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Portlander Melissa Gordon Magnus drives hundreds of miles each week for her job as an elder care life enrichment specialist.
Lately, she said her trips to the gas station have been really painful.
“I work independently in the field, which means that I’m driving to pick an elder up and take them out on an outing,” Gordon Magnus said. “Or I’m going to their home to help them with a shower, or to tidy their space.”
High fuel prices send a shockwave through the entire economy. But people whose jobs require lots of driving, like Gordon Magnus, are among the first to take the hit.
The average price for regular gasoline in Oregon jumped to $4.87 per gallon this week, nearly a dollar more than the national average, according to the nonprofit member club American Automobile Association (AAA). The entire West Coast is seeing sticker shock at the pump, with California and Washington ranking first and second, respectively, for the highest price per gallon.
The reasons Oregonians are paying so much for gasoline include both the international economy and region-specific pressures.
The price of crude oil — the main component of gasoline — is based on the global market. The U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, which has closed down a major oil trade route, is limiting the global supply of oil while demand stays steady, effectively driving up the price. That’s why gasoline and other fuels are going up in price across the U.S.
Meanwhile, Oregon and other West Coast states frequently have higher gas prices than the rest of the country. That’s due to high taxes, limited refineries that turn oil into gasoline (there are zero in Oregon), and environmental policies that deter increased gasoline production in the region.
The result is that West Coast drivers are seeing steep price increases at the gas pump. While less than 5% of the average household budget goes to gasoline, that share is often higher for people who have to drive as part of their job — or in the case of Uber or Lyft drivers, for their entire job.
Some rideshare company drivers told OPB they are making calculations on which rides are or are not worth taking.
“I’m no longer accepting a ride that takes me longer to get to the person than where I’m taking them,” said Lindsay MacInnis, who is a Lyft driver in Portland. “For example, if I’m in Northeast Portland, and somebody wants me to come downtown to pick them up, but they’re only going 2 blocks? That’s not good use of my gas.”
That’s a simple example, but MacInnis is making other calculations too. She’s also not accepting any long-range rides that would end up with her coming back into the city with an empty car.
“I’m being more mindful of how I’m [burning] gas, while trying to keep my acceptance rate up, and keep earning,” she said.
A man buys gasoline at a Chevron gas station with prices starting at $5.39 per gallon for regular grade unleaded gas in downtown Portland, Ore., on March 16, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Gig workers who drive for DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats are also feeling the pinch, but some people, like Dylan Ambrose, who is a full-time DoorDash driver in Bend, are seeing it as an opportunity.
“It’s actually kind of nice ‘cause not a lot of people are working for DoorDash, but a lot of people are still using the service,” he said.
Ambrose explained he is rigorous about how he tracks his income and is seeing a higher dollar per mile amount, but admits it’s a give and take.
“The last week of February, gas was $2.80 a gallon and I made a thousand bucks across 1,100 miles worth of driving,” he said. “Tonight, I’ve only driven 30 miles and made like 90 bucks… I can’t fill my tank for less than 40 bucks anymore, but I’m busy the whole time I’m working.”
Some companies have even announced relief programs or incentives to keep drivers on the road, but 18-year-old Hiro Iwata, who has only been driving for a few months, never got that information.
“I actually didn’t know about that,” he said. “Although it could certainly help.”
In the short time the Vancouver, Washington, teen has been driving for DoorDash, he’s seen the increase in gas prices directly affect his bottom line.
“It made a really big difference going from being able to fill up my entire tank for $35, and now it’s up to almost $60,” Iwata said. “That really cuts into the profit you make, especially if you’re doing a lot of city driving in the Portland area — you’re spending a lot of time sitting around burning gas.”
And the 18-year-old from Vancouver says he tries to fill his tank when he is working in Portland, since the gas is even more expensive across the river.
“My local gas station — I have a Chevron in the area and an ARCO — and they’re both at $5.60 and $5.95, so they’re up pretty high,” he said.
But it’s not just a strain on his wallet that Iwata laments, “The thing that sucks the most is that driving is really representative of freedom for a lot of younger people.”
Before gas prices were so high, he said his group of friends would often travel out of the city for hikes or make the half-hour drive to the Topgolf in Hillsboro.
“Not being able to access that as easily, and having it be so expensive and a constant drain when you’re thinking about how much money you have to spend to go somewhere,” he said. “[That] is what impacts me as a teenager the most.”
