Driver Muhammad Ridwan sits on the side of a road in Jakarta, anxiously waiting for his phone to ring. He says it’s hardly worth rushing through thick smog every day to carry passengers.

A 30 percent hike in fuel prices spurred hundreds of drivers of the most popular ride-hailing apps to hold protests across Indonesia as they struggle to make ends meet.

“Sometimes I don’t eat a proper meal all day to split my money on gas. How am I supposed to work if I don’t have gas?” asked Ridwan, a contractor for Gojek – which, in addition to Singapore’s grave, also owns Asia’s most valuable startups.

The drivers operate in an unregulated market, and critics say the companies exploit them as “partners” or contractors, taking large cuts from their daily income.

In a bid to reduce Indonesia’s deficit amid rising global inflation and rising energy prices due to the war in Ukraine, President Joko Widodo has cut fuel subsidies.

It pushed the price of Petralite — Indonesia’s cheapest fuel choice — from about 7,650 rupiah (50 cents) to 10,000 (67 cents) a liter.

On-demand drivers say the two ride-hailing giants have increased fares only slightly — by 800 rupiah (5 cents) per kilometer — to cover the extra cost.

Both Gojek and Grab told AFP that they had pushed through a tariff change in line with government regulation.

Gojek, which merged with e-commerce platform Tokopedia in a multibillion-dollar deal earlier this year, said the goal of the rate change is to “support driver partners.”

Grab said it was “designed to protect and preserve the welfare of our rider partners.”

Both declined to disclose the wage increase, but union leaders said it fell short of drivers’ expectations.

“Drivers across Indonesia cannot accept the tariff adjustment,” said Igun Wicaksono, who heads a union of more than 100,000 drivers.

On a good day, riders can earn up to 150,000 rupiah ($10). But where a fuel stop used to cost 20,000 rupiah ($1.35), it can now cost as much as 35,000 rupiah ($2.35).

Drivers sometimes have to fill up twice in one shift, giving them a meager profit.

More competition from cheaper delivery apps is increasing the pressure on Gojek and Grab drivers, leading to fears they won’t be able to provide for their families.

“It puts a lot of strain on me when I buy fuel these days,” said 38-year-old Grab driver Ivan Nur Akbar, who had been waiting for a ping on his phone for an hour.

“Fortunately, I can still afford food for my family because we regularly get rice from government programs,” he said.

The gig economy, with its complex rewards-based system, has been in the global spotlight in recent years as workers in several countries protested against their tech employers.

Even before the fuel price hike, anger was simmering in Indonesia with allegations of unfair practices and poor working conditions.

In July, a driver sewed his lips shut to signal that drivers’ concerns would go unheeded.

Gig drivers warn the inaction could spark mass protests across the country. So far, the protests have been limited to a few hundred and have met with a huge deployment of around 8,000 police officers in Jakarta.

With Grab and Gojek providing more than four million drivers, it’s a daunting prospect for the government.

“Don’t just throw promises,” said Gojek driver Saiful Ridwan, 38, referring to government aid pledges as he waited outside Jakarta’s Pasar Senen wholesale market.

“Don’t let poor people get poorer.”