🚐 Routes and Jobs Part 1: Driving Workforce Stability, One Ride at a Time.

In cities like Memphis, public transit options are limited, and traditional rideshare services are unaffordable for low-wage workers. Transportation has quietly become one of the most formidable barriers to employment. For over 30% of hourly workers, unreliable transit is the reason behind missed shifts, lost wages, and job instability.

Routes and Jobs emerged to rewrite that story.

Founded by a visionary team: Donnie Gladney, Shakyra Purdy, Marcos Barrera, Valencia Baymon, Marcus Kelly, and Victor Ivan Vega. The startup is building a workforce rideshare platform tailored to the realities of shift-based work. Their mission is clear: to bridge the gap between job placement and dependable transportation by partnering directly with employers to deliver targeted, efficient, and affordable transit solutions for hourly workers.

Rather than forcing workers to navigate unpredictable costs or off-peak transit deserts, Routes and Jobs offer a system designed around their needs.

And the momentum is real. In under a year, the team has transformed its vision into a movement:

Routes and Jobs isn’t just solving a transit problem. It’s unlocking access to work, dignity, and economic mobility for communities that have long been underserved. Their journey is just beginning, but the road ahead is paved with purpose.

Coming up in the next article in this two-part series, we’re sitting down with the founders to go beyond the headlines. Think quick hits on their personal journey, what keeps them motivated, the messy challenges and surprising wins of building a startup, and some hard-earned tips on innovation and scaling. We’ll also tap into resources and insights that every Memphis founder should know about.

Explore the founders, tools, and big ideas shaping our city’s startup scene. One bold build at a time