Can you say bucket truck?

Or cherry picker?

No credit, bad credit? After a decision like this it's no wonder.
You can rent the lifts or a truck and driver for less.
other idea, Perhaps the owner is thinking they're saveing by provideing labor and staging.

People are a "funny" breed.

Wouldn't it depend on how many lights?? I know a small lift around me is a 100 bucks a day. Thats with the tiny tires only made to be on a smooth floor

I agree ... even for a single fixture, the use of a lift of some sort beats the dickens out of scaffolds and ladders.

Scissor lifts are great, but it's amazing just how little 'crown' in the pavement will set off the 'tip' indicator on them. Getting the scissor back on the trailer is also fun.

The best solution for me has proved to be a towable boom lift. Cost is an issue ... around here, renting one costs about $50 more than the $130 needed for a scissor lift and trailer combo. You also get to invest in a harness, if you don't already have one.
Yet, for that extra cost .... it's easy to visit a number of sites, and the boom will usually reach quite easily over and bushes or set-back the pole may have.

It's not just a matter of climbing. As the picture shows, the lights are usually set off from the pole. You need some place up there to place your parts .... and some of those parts are a bit heavy.

With higher pole light, like these (40'?), you can get a tow-behind lift for about $200/24hrs (out here in so cal, anyway).

Worth every penny.

This guy is obviously just trying to get the most out of what he has (scaffolding).

I know I feel a heck of a lot more stable in a double-boom bucket lift than on a bunch of hinky scaffolding, so if the customer doesn't want to spring for the lift, I've gotta pass that job up. I like going home at the end of the day.

One shopping center out here had their painting contractor do that for each pole they were painting at the final trim out before the mall opened.

They had theirs on trailer tires and used the leveling screws at the bottom of each leg take the load off the tires and level it at each pole. You would see 3 painters pushing this rig from pole to pole evey few hours.

That scaffold doesn't meet safety regs here.
Rungs too far apart for climbing. Needs a separate ladder on the inside.
Platforms don't have any side rails.
I'm sure there are others but I can't come with them now.

I seriously doubt that anyone would question the safety aspects of this setup. I'm relatively confident that the original post was more of a "look how dangerous this is" kind of thing.