Latest Sharing Economy Headlines
All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Uber Drivers Lose Key Ruling in Pay and Benefits Suit
Sep 25 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. drivers suffered a major defeat in one of the gig economy’s most closely watched labor fights with a ruling barring hundreds of thousands of drivers from suing as a group for better pay and...
Arizona Uber Driver Suing NFL Quarterback in Groping Incident
Sep 20 2018 // A female Uber driver in Arizona is suing Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, accusing him of sexual assault. Court documents say the woman filed the suit in Arizona this week and is seeking more than $75,000...
Americans’ Interest in Self-Driving Cars Goes in Reverse
Sep 19 2018 // Less than half of Americans (43 percent) are interested in utilizing self-driving cars, down from 53 percent last year. According to an annual sharing economy index by Allianz Global Assistance, the lack of interest is...
Suit: Uber Saved $500M a Year by Misclassifying California Drivers as Independent Contractors
Sep 12 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. may be saving more than $500 million a year by misclassifying its California drivers as independent contractors, according to a lawsuit that claims the ride-hailing company is flouting a ruling by...
Rideshare Firms Eye New Safety Measures for Riders, Drivers
Sep 10 2018 // If you sit in an Uber car for too long, the ride-hailing company plans to check up on you to make sure all is OK. That’s one of several new features Uber Technologies Inc. unveiled on Wednesday meant to make trips...
Judge Tosses Uber Investors’ Class Action Bid Over Stock Losses
Sep 4 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. and its former Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick defeated a lawsuit claiming the company swept illicit business practices under the rug that cost investors billions of dollars. U.S. District...
Ridesharing Workers of Gig Economy: What Census Numbers Show
Aug 30 2018 // How big is the gig economy? The answer depends on how one defines “gig economy.” Because there is no broadly accepted definition and no straightforward way to classify workers or jobs as “gig” or...
China’s Largest Ride-Hailing Firm Didi Suspends Service After 2nd Passenger Killing
Aug 30 2018 // China’s largest ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing has suspended its carpooling service after a passenger was killed, and is likely to face tighter oversight that will squeeze driver numbers and extend customer...
Airbnb Sues New York City to Block User-Data Bill Over Privacy
Aug 27 2018 // Home-rental providers Airbnb Inc. and HomeAway are suing New York City over a recently passed law that allows the collection of data on the websites’ hosts, claiming the ordinance violates users’ constitutional...
Workers Win $1.9 Million Sexual Harassment Settlement with Uber
Aug 22 2018 // The cost of Uber Technologies Inc.’s sexual harassment scandal is now itemized: 56 current and former employees who filed claims stand to collect an average of $33,928.57. In addition, almost 500 female and minority...
Study Says Uber Had No Impact on Some Crash Rates in Virginia
Aug 21 2018 // A recent study finds no evidence that ride-hailing app Uber reduced the number of serious car wrecks in Virginia. The research also found no change in the likelihood that a fatal crash involved alcohol. The College of...
Hawaii to Allow Rideshare Operators at Honolulu Airport
Aug 17 2018 // Hawaii will allow ridesharing services to operate at the Honolulu airport on a permanent basis after changes were approved to administration rules. Uber and Lyft, which the state refers to as transportation network...
Tighter Regulations in NYC Could Take Bite Out of Airbnb Profits
Aug 17 2018 // Airbnb faces tightening regulations in New York City that could take a big bite out of its profits, and on Wednesday the short-term rental company offered a counter-measure designed to appease hostile politicians: a $10...
Why Not Just Retrain Pedestrians to Make Self-Driving Vehicles Safer?
Aug 17 2018 // You’re crossing the street wrong. That is essentially the argument some self-driving car boosters have fallen back on in the months after the first pedestrian death attributed to an autonomous vehicle and amid...
NYC Mayor Signs Bill Capping New Ride-Hail Licenses
Aug 16 2018 // New York City, the largest American market for Uber, has become the first U.S. city to regulate the growth of app-based rides. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday signed a bill placing a temporary cap on new...
New York City Votes to Cap Uber, Lyft Vehicle Licenses
Aug 9 2018 // The New York City Council on Wednesday agreed to cap the number of licenses for ride-hailing services such as Uber for one year, dealing a blow to the companies that have relied on the largest U.S. metro area for a major...
Uber Revs Up Freight Business After Closing Self-Driving Truck Unit
Aug 9 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. is creating a standalone business out of its long-haul trucking business, with plans to double its investment in the unit to drive growth ahead of a much-anticipated initial public offering. Uber...
Gig Firms Want California to Override Court Ruling
Aug 8 2018 // Leading gig economy companies including Uber and Lyft are quietly lobbying California’s top Democrats to override or undermine a court ruling that could make many of their contract workers into employees. In April,...
Declarations
Aug 6 2018 // Campus Guns “College campuses as gun-free zones present an environment where murderers, rapists and other criminals may commit crimes without fear of being harmed by their victims.” — An NRA lobbyist who...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Approve Rental, Voter, Climate Bills as Deadline Looms
Aug 1 2018 // The Massachusetts Legislature gave final approval Monday to a bill that would tax and regulate short-term rentals, including those offered by Airbnb and other online platforms. After weeks of negotiations, House and Senate...
