For Rashid Ali, a rickshaw driver in Lahore, the long hours spent behind the wheel are no longer enough to feed his family. As liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices skyrocket, the man often dubbed the "fuel of the poor" has seen his daily earnings plummet by more than half. With the recent closure of crucial Iranian border crossings disrupting supply chains, the cost of LPG—the lifeblood of thousands of auto-rickshaws and public transport vehicles—has surged dramatically. For drivers like Ali, who already struggle to cover high rental fees and daily living costs, this energy crisis has forced a painful reality: skipping meals just to keep their families afloat.

The situation is compounded by a lack of sympathy from passengers, who are equally squeezed by Pakistan's broader economic instability and are unwilling to absorb the necessary fare hikes. As inflation and rising interest rates tighten their grip on the nation, drivers find themselves trapped between rising operating costs and customers who simply walk away when faced with higher prices. For many like Ali, every day is now a desperate gamble; he continues to work until midnight, hoping to earn just enough to put a simple meal on the table for his children, as the dream of a stable livelihood fades into the struggle for basic survival.