E-Paper
Sign In
UAE fuel price hike: Will moving homes, food delivery, car recovery costs go up?
Businesses are assessing how higher fuel costs are affecting their operations while looking for ways to cut unnecessary trips and manage monthly expenses
- PUBLISHED: Sat 3 Oct 2026, 6:00 AM UPDATED: Sat 3 Oct 2026, 8:16 AM
After delivering furniture from Sharjah to Dubai, a moving truck has to travel back 40 to 50 kilometres without carrying another load. That empty return journey has become part of the fuel calculation for moving trucks after the latest fuel-price increase.
Movers, car recovery operators and restaurants are now checking how much the higher fuel rates are adding to each job. They are also looking at ways to reduce unnecessary trips and control their monthly costs.
Recommended For You
From October 1, diesel increased by 50 fils to Dh4.80 per litre. Special 95 petrol increased by 59 fils to Dh4.28 per litre.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Zeeshan Khan, a freelance mover in Sharjah, said that a job to Dubai can cover around 40 kilometres one way.
“When we have to go a long distance, around 40 to 50 kilometres, we have to return empty-handed. For example, if we move households and furniture from Sharjah to Dubai, we cannot load another customer’s furniture in Dubai. So, the extra fuel cost of the return journey becomes a loss for us,” he said.
This means the full journey can cover around 80 to 100 kilometres. Depending on the vehicle, fuel economy can be between four and seven kilometres per litre. Based on these figures, the diesel increase adds about Dh7 to Dh17 for one round trip.
Khan said that they are currently not adding this amount to customers' bills yet. “We have not started charging extra. We will first see how much more we have to pay. We are calculating the cost every month. If it goes above Dh200, we may have to share part of the cost with customers. But for this month, we are not planning to add anything,” he said.
The movers are also considering combining different customers' consignments in one trip. “What we are thinking of doing is loading one customer’s furniture and keeping it safely for a day or two. Then we can look for another customer moving in the same direction. If we can take two or three customers’ items in one trip, they save money and we save fuel,” said Khan.
Recovery operators are also calculating the effect of the fuel increase. A recovery truck may have to travel to a stranded vehicle, take it to a garage and then return to its base. Rafiq, a recovery operator based in Sharjah, said that for a recovery trip of around 100 to 150 kilometres, the diesel increase could add about Dh8 to Dh25, depending on the truck’s fuel economy.
Rafiq said that charges have not been increased. “We have not added anything to the customer’s bill. We are still checking how much extra fuel we are using every month. For this month, we are not planning any change,” said Rafiq.
Rafiq mentioned that winter could bring more calls from desert and mountain areas. “Now that winter is coming, more people will be going to the desert and the hills. We may have more long-distance jobs, so it may become difficult to manage the additional fuel cost,” he said.
Khaleej Times asked restaurants if there would be an impact on food delivery. They said that the difference is smaller because most orders are delivered within nearby areas. “Our deliveries are within the vicinity and not long distances. The bikes give better fuel economy, and we usually refill once a week,” said Nazir, who runs a restaurant in Al Nahda.
Using a working estimate of 40 kilometres per litre, the fuel-only increase on a 10-kilometre delivery would be about 15 fils. A 12 to 14-litre weekly refill would cost about Dh7 to Dh8 more than last month.
The restaurant operator said that the final impact would depend on the number of orders and the distance covered.
“For one delivery, the extra fuel cost may be small. But if there are many deliveries in a day, or if the distances are longer, the total extra cost can reach up to Dh1 in some cases. We are not adding a separate delivery charge at the moment,” said Nazir.
For now, customers are not facing an immediate increase in moving, recovery or food-delivery charges. The businesses are absorbing the extra cost while they study their monthly expenses.
If fuel costs remain high, or if operators are travelling longer distances, some businesses may review their charges later.
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.