Ben Schiller of Fast Company wrote an article stating that the sharing economy could help the poorest among us and said, according to GetAround data, that more people use GetAround in poorer parts of San Francisco. 

Really??

Let's look at what is true here.

• Most of the so-called traditional "poor" parts of San Francisco are now run by hipsters and techies. So if you're looking at the Mission, Dogpatch or Bayview, chances are it's the techies living there using it and not the original "poorer" community accessing these apps.
• Second, sharing is a part of life for many poorer communities. Oh, you don't have a car? Great. Someone's sister's brother's cousin has one and can take you. Basically, they've been sharing long before it was cool. The same goes for food. Food is the language of love for many low-income families. Don't believe me? Find a low-income family and see what the head of the household offers you. It's usually a meal. 
• Third, the technology used in the sharing economy needs to be introduced to poorer communities in a way that addresses their reservations. But first, what do they need? Smartphones. Wifi. Faster public internet.
  

So, what other reservations?

We need to solve the bigger issues that stand in the way like internet access, language translations and the lack of trust for websites or apps, especially providing and saving credit card information. These are all real issues for low-income community members.

I don't doubt low-income community members are becoming Lyft and Uber drivers. But that they're accessing the apps because access is cheaper than ownership? Hmm. Show me more data.

Bottom line, address the issues mentioned above before claiming the sharing economy is helping the poorest among us.