Even before gas prices soared across the country, ride-hailing driver Martinelli Quintanilla tried to stretch his gas tank as much as possible.
Quintanilla — who also works in the hospitality industry — drives a Toyota Prius, which uses a gasoline engine and electric motor to power the car, to save on gas and stays in the Loop during peak hours to draw better tips and tries to take trips under 30 minutes. It’s part of his strategy to make as much as he can in the gig economy while trying to maximize his fuel.
It usually costs Quintanilla, 51, about $60 to fill up his gas tank, which he usually has to do every two days. When he works in his hospitality job in the suburbs, Quintanilla leaves his Chicago home about an hour and a half earlier to do ride-hailing jobs along the way.
“I go to work picking up people, and I usually make $40 to $50,” Quintanilla said in Spanish. “Going back home, I make another $50 to $60. This is taking advantage, especially now, of the gas prices. I don’t waste a mile.”
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