[locklock]

I feel like I've read this article plenty of times, just replace the scooter company with a rideshare company or a delivery company or anything else from the "gig economy." And after a few months or years, how many of these jobs remain stable and well-paying, if they still exist at all? Of course it's good that someone who was homeless is given a chance to reenter the workforce but looking to these incredibly volatile startup/gig economy companies to provide that seems like, after all the recent examples, a bad idea.

[code_duck]

It seems like scooters are here to stay. Gaining skills and experience at repairing small transportation devices is probably not a bad plan.

[stevehawk]

Well, this is the eternal debate between job and career, right? If a government "creates jobs" by investing in infrastructure then it's the same problem. When that road is paved or that park is built then those people face the same dilemma. So we just hope that the economy itself keeps going in a manner that we can have things cycle and people can switch jobs as needed.

[mixmastamyk]

It's a "stepping stone" job, not meant as a destination.

[zjaffee]

This is interesting to me though, because if it's the case that a person without a permanent address can start making money through the gig economy, that's providing more equitable employment opportunities than what was available prior.

[ovi256]

You're welcome to try your way to provide good careers to these people. Just because other entrepreneurs didn't do it doesn't mean you should let it stop you!

[xemdetia]

I find this comment confusing, as there's no expectation of entrepreneurs to create jobs- its just a side effect of trying to make money. I agree with the top comment where this feels like more of the same and when the subsidy/vc money dries up they are going to be fired just as if they were a contractor as the company dissolves. There just wasn't anything in this piece that felt like more than a template fluff about how company X creates a service around consumer product Y and is paying some token people a few dollars over minimum wage. Which in itself is fine, but there was no real information on how they were going to sustain themselves and become a stable business.

The thing that irks me about this article is the feeling that it's going to be used as a powerpoint footnote/feel good slide forever well after the primary person in this article has long since departed.