Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Uber’s Self-Driving Car That Killed Pedestrian Lacked Tech to Detect Jaywalkers

Nov 7 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s self-driving test car that struck and killed a pedestrian last year wasn’t programmed to recognize and react to jaywalkers, according to documents released by U.S. safety...

‘Party Houses’ Banned by Airbnb After California Shooting Kills 5

Nov 4 2019 // Airbnb’s CEO said the company was taking actions against unauthorized parties in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Halloween party held at an Airbnb rental home in California.In a series of tweets, Brian Chesky said...

Uber And Lyft Will Ask California Voters to Block Employee Law

Oct 31 2019 // Some of the country’s largest ridesharing companies proposed a California law on Tuesday that would let them continue to treat drivers as independent contractors while also guaranteeing them a minimum wage and money...

Insurance Cost Strategy Key to Lyft’s Path to Profitability

Oct 31 2019 // Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. on Wednesday said higher-than-expected third-quarter revenues and an improved outlook showed it was well on its way to profitability by the end of 2021.As pressure to become profitable mounts...

Newfront Taps Brown from Uber as Chief Operating Officer

Oct 24 2019 // Newfront Insurance has named Michael Brown chief operating officer. Brown joins Newfront from Uber, where he was responsible for Uber’s business across Southeast Asia and Australia. Prior to Uber Brown, was at...

James River Insurance Retains Rating After Dropping Its Biggest Customer, Uber

Oct 18 2019 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said its ratings of James River Insurance remain unchanged after the insurer said it would be cancelling its business with ride-hailing giant Uber affiliate, Rasier, its largest client.A.M Best...

U.S. Safety Board Wants to Learn Cause of Fatal Uber Autonomous Car Crash

Oct 18 2019 // The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a Nov. 19 hearing to determine the probable cause of a March 2018 Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian in Arizona.The...

Lyft, Uber Bypass House Panel Hearing on Transportation Safety and Labor Conditions

Oct 17 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. skipped a U.S. House of Representatives hearing the ride-hailing industry, angering lawmakers who threatened tighter regulation for the fast-growing market.The two ride-hailing...

Willis Towers Watson Adds Lyft’s Hurley in California

Oct 16 2019 // Willis Towers Watson has named Joseph Hurley director or corporate risk and broking. He will work out of Willis Towers Watson’s Silicon Valley tech center in California, where he will lead the firm’s platform...

Uber Must Show London Regulator Its Drivers Are Insured, Trained, for License Renewal

Sep 25 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. has been granted a two-month license to operate in London as the ride-hailing app makes stuttering progress in winning over the city’s regulator.Transport for London had previously declined to...

Specialty Lines Insurance: Innovating at the Edges of Society and the Economy

Sep 17 2019 // Emerging risks with little or no claims history can be notoriously difficult to underwrite—but many specialty lines companies are finding ways to put their toes in the water to insure these new risks, especially when...

Arch Nemesis of Uber over Driver Pay Sues Before New California Law Inked

Sep 13 2019 // It didn’t take long for attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan to deploy a new weapon in her six-year war with Uber Technologies Inc. over driver pay.Within hours of Uber thumbing its nose at a pending California labor law...

Uber Being Sued Over Resistance to California ‘Gig’ Contractor Law

Sep 13 2019 // A driver for Uber has sued the company for misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors, hours after California legislators voted to help thousands of those workers become, and enjoy the benefits of being,...

Uber Refusing to Label Drivers as Employees Under California Law

Sep 12 2019 // Facing the most serious threat yet to its business model, Uber Technologies Inc. is dusting off a legal argument it has employed with mixed results: that it’s a technology platform, not a transportation company.Now,...

California Truckers Worrying over New ‘Gig Worker’ Rules

Sep 12 2019 // California trucking companies that haul everything from summer strawberries to cars and Christmas toys say they are under threat from a bill that could turn so-called gig workers into employees.California state Senators...

Bill to Tighten “Gig” Worker Rule Passed by California Senate

Sep 11 2019 // The California State Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that would make it much more difficult for gig economy companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to classify workers as independent contractors rather...

Uber, Lyft Balk at Revealing Contracted Drivers’ Names; Claim ‘Trade Secrets’

Sep 4 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. have argued to Chicago city officials that the names of their drivers should be treated as “trade secrets,” and should not be released because competitors could use the...

Uber, Lyft Pledge $60M to Fight Possible California Labor Ballot

Aug 30 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are putting $60 million behind a potential ballot measure to ensure they don’t have to reclassify their California drivers as employees.The ride-hailing giants and other gig...

Former Google Engineer Charged in Uber Autonomous Theft Case

Aug 29 2019 // A former Google engineer was charged Tuesday with stealing self-driving car technology from the company shortly before he joined Uber’s efforts to catch up in the high-stakes race to build robotic vehicles.The...

Airbnb Settles Racial Discrimination Suit Brought by Oregon Women

Aug 19 2019 // Airbnb has settled a lawsuit brought by several Oregon women who said the site allowed vacation rental owners to discriminate against customers based on race. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports African American plaintiffs...