Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

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

How Cabbies Are Morphing Into Hybrid Taxi-Ridesharing Firms

Nov 8 2017 // Taxi companies across the U.S. waged a bitter, high-profile battle to keep Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. from bringing the sharing economy to cabs.They lost. Now the cabbies are adopting a...

Google’s Waymo in California Shifting Robotic Cars into Next Gear

Nov 1 2017 // Google’s self-driving car spin-off is accelerating efforts to convince the public that its technology is almost ready to safely transport people without any human assistance at all.Waymo, hatched from a Google...

Uber: Giving UK Drivers Workers’ Rights Would Cost Millions of Pounds

Oct 10 2017 // Uber said on Tuesday that paying National Insurance contributions for its British drivers would add tens of millions of pounds to the taxi app’s costs were they to be deemed employees.Uber currently classifies its...

Uber Drivers Will Need Licenses, Insurance in Australia’s Queensland

Oct 2 2017 // Ride-booking operators and drivers, such as those from Uber Technologies Inc., will need licenses to offer their services in the Australian state of Queensland under new regulations announced Sunday in Brisbane.The...

Fake Uber Driver in Illinois Accused Of Picking Up and Raping Women

Sep 29 2017 // Additional charges have been filed against a suburban Chicago man accused of posing as an Uber driver who picked up women outside bars and raping them.Musaab Afandi of Glenview appeared at a bond hearing Wednesday after...

Uber CEO Apologizes to Londoners for Taxi App’s Mistakes

Sep 26 2017 // Uber’s new boss Dara Khosrowshahi apologized to Londoners for the taxi app’s mistakes and pledged to make changes as the Silicon Valley firm tries to overturn a decision to strip it of its license in one of its...

London Decides to Strip Uber of Its License; Uber Will Appeal

Sep 22 2017 // London stripped Uber on Friday of its license to operate from the end of September in a huge blow to the taxi app that will affect more than 40,000 drivers in one of the world’s biggest cities.Regulator Transport for...

Autonomous Vehicle Regulation Highlights Federal vs. State Divide

Sep 19 2017 // As the U.S. Congress moves quickly to pass the first federal law governing self-driving cars, some state and city officials are pushing back over fears that the measure will limit their ability to regulate vehicle safety...

Uber Provides Free Accident Insurance for More Than 450,000 Indian Drivers

Aug 29 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. rolled out a free insurance program for more than 450,000 drivers registered on its ride-hailing app in India, seeking to attract more drivers. The San Francisco-based company, which this week chose...

Judge Won’t Allow Challenge to Seattle’s Rideshare Driver Union Law

Aug 28 2017 // For the second time this month, a federal judge has rejected a challenge to Seattle’s first-in-the-nation law allowing drivers of ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working...

Is Colorado’s Pet Sitting Law Another Insurance Quagmire Waiting to Unfold?

Aug 21 2017 // If it barks like a dog…A new Colorado law that enables people to sit up to three pets without needing a license looks pretty much like just another piece of the growing gig economy. People can sell their services...

Court Upholds Uber Forced Arbitration, Ban on Customer Lawsuits

Aug 17 2017 // A U.S. appeals court on Thursday ruled in favor of Uber Technologies Inc. in a closely watched lawsuit over whether passengers gave up their right to sue the ride-sharing company when they registered for its service.The...

Uber CEO Claims Venture Capital Lawsuit Against Him Should Go to Arbitration

Aug 17 2017 // Ex-Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick said the lawsuit brought by venture-capital firm Benchmark seeking his ouster from the company’s board should be heard in private arbitration.In a...

Uber Improves Work Conditions for UK Drivers Including Tipping via App

Aug 14 2017 // Taxi app Uber will improve conditions for its British drivers with changes including in-app tipping, after criticism from lawmakers and unions for not giving them more rights.Drivers for Uber, food courier Deliveroo and...

Is Colorado’s Pet Sitting Law Another Insurance Quagmire Waiting to Unfold?

Aug 10 2017 // If it barks like a dog…A new Colorado law that enables people to sit up to three pets without needing a license looks pretty much like just another piece of the growing gig economy. People can sell their services though...

Challenge to Seattle’s Ridesharing-Union Law Dismissed

Aug 4 2017 // A judge has dismissed one challenge to Seattle’s first-in-the-nation law allowing drivers of ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working conditions.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which...

AXA to Provide Accident Cover for Uber Drivers in France

Jul 25 2017 // Uber and insurance group AXA have joined forces in France to offer accident cover for drivers who work for the ride hailing service after it faced criticism over their treatment.In France, as in other countries, Uber has...

Ride-Hail Firm Lyft Enters Race to Manufacture Autonomous Cars

Jul 24 2017 // Ride-hailing provider Lyft Inc., emboldened by public stumbles by larger rival Uber Technologies Inc., is taking the leap into developing its own fully autonomous vehicles.Lyft is opening a self-driving vehicle development...

Government’s Disruption in Insurtech Market: The Zebra CEO

Jul 24 2017 // Unsurprisingly, discussion surrounding government’s role in free markets with large corporations can be contentious, but it’s critical to understand that laws and regulations serve a purpose. To what extent...

Taxi Drivers in North Carolina’s Capital City Face Rough Year Thanks to Ridesharing

Jul 18 2017 // Johnson Umeh has plenty of experience as a taxi driver, and he says the job has never been as tough as it is now.Like many drivers, his business is being sapped by Uber and Lyft – the popular ride-hailing apps that...