E-scooter company to provide summer jobs for at-risk youth
Posted December 13, 2019 9:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An electric-scooter company says it is partnering with a local youth employment agency to provide summer work for teens and young adults.
Bird Rides Inc.’s Canadian subsidiary said they will be working with Youth Employment Services (YES) to bring in at-risk youth to work in various positions in the company.
“Bird Canada is planning to offer seasonal employment to a few dozen youth within the YES community across several roles, including operations specialists, who will locate and charge scooters, and repair and maintenance roles as well,” a press release said Friday.
The company currently does not offer its e-scooter service in Toronto, but said in the press release it will be hiring youth in the “anticipated approval for an e-scooter program in the City of Toronto.”
In September, the company temporarily offered the e-scooters in the Distillery District as part of a pilot project, though the two-wheeled, motorized vehicles are currently illegal to operate anywhere in the province other than on private property.
In the fall, the provincial government announced it was starting a five-year pilot project on Jan. 1, 2020 to allow the e-scooters on public roads.
The pilot will let municipalities decide whether to allow e-scooters on municipal roads, including parks and trails, the province said.
In anticipation of the pilot, the city said in November staff will issue a report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee “on a proposed framework that enables the oversight and management of e-scooters on Toronto roadways.”
Bird Canada says it has operations in other Canadian cities, such as Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, and Westmount.
With files from The Canadian Press
