Latest Sharing Economy Headlines
All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Utah Cabs Want Ridesharing Companies Subject to Airport Fare Rules
Jun 22 2015 // A Utah cab company lawyer says it’s frustrating that new limits on airport cab fares won’t apply to ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Yellow Cab attorney Rocky Anderson said last week that cab companies...
Uber Expected to Ride Out Employee Ruling, Maintain High Valuation
Jun 22 2015 // A California ruling requiring Uber to classify a San Francisco-based driver as an employee instead of an independent contractor could potentially change how sharing-economy companies operate, but it is unlikely to dent...
Rideshare Firm Lyft to Pay $300K in Settlement With New York
Jun 19 2015 // New York officials announced Thursday that rideshare firm Lyft has agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties as part of a settlement with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the New York State Department of Financial...
How Ruling That Drivers Are Employees Upends Uber Business Model
Jun 19 2015 // If you’re a freelance writer who occasionally sells articles to a website, are you actually an employee? If you live in California, I think the answer might be — yes? The California Labor commissioner has ruled...
Will Uber Employee Status Ruling in California Impact Its Business Model?
Jun 17 2015 // An Uber driver is an employee not a contractor, according to a California Labor Commission ruling on Wednesday that opens the door to more scrutiny over the rideshare giant’s business model. Earlier in the day some...
Commission Rules Uber Drivers Employees, Not Contractors
Jun 17 2015 // A San Francisco-based driver for smartphone-based ride-hailing service Uber is an employee, not a contractor, according to a ruling by the California Labor Commission. The ruling, filed on Tuesday in state court in San...
Alabama Metro Mayors Paving the Way for Uber in Their Cities
Jun 16 2015 // Mayors in several major Alabama cities are working to clear roadblocks to bring ride-hailing company Uber and others like it to their areas. “If it can work in Nashville, if it can work in Charlotte, then it can work...
DelDOT Announces Approval for Rideshare Firm Uber to Operate in Delaware
Jun 15 2015 // The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles has announced an agreement between state officials and Uber officially allowing the smartphone-powered private car service to operate in the state under new regulations. Over the...
Nevada Regulators Want to Fast-track Drafting of Uber rules
Jun 15 2015 // Nevada transportation regulators say they’ll seek to fast-track regulations for ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Members of the Nevada Transportation Authority voted 2-1 on Thursday to petition Gov. Brian...
Nevada Governor Signs Bills Authorizing Ridesharing Companies
Jun 15 2015 // Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed two bills to regulate ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft in Nevada. Sandoval gave final approval to Assembly Bill 175 and Assembly Bill 176 at the end of May, just as cab drivers in Las...
First Major California Insurer to Offer Ridesharing Endorsement
Jun 15 2015 // Farmers became the first large California insurer to start offering a ridesharing insurance product in late-May. In an announcement made at the Los Angeles office of California Department of Insurance, California Insurance...
Plan to Limit Vacation Rentals Held off in San Francisco for Now
Jun 11 2015 // San Francisco supervisors tabled further attempts to regulate home-shares this week, despite calls from some members to vote on a plan to limit short-term vacation rentals to 60 days a year. The vote by the Board of...
Judge Denies Uber Arbitration in Dispute with Drivers
Jun 10 2015 // Uber lost a bid to force arbitration in a lawsuit brought by its drivers, as a U.S. judge ruled the smartphone-based taxi service’s 2013 and 2014 employment contracts dealing with arbitration from were...
South Carolina Lawmakers to Debate Uber Bill in Special Session
Jun 8 2015 // Debate on a bill allowing Uber to continue operating in South Carolina will extend into the Legislature’s special session. The House refused June 5 by a vote of 81-23 to accept the Senate’s changes to the bill....
Mississippi City Considers Easing Regulations for Taxicab Companies
Jun 5 2015 // The Jackson, Miss., City Council is looking at reducing the number of vehicles required to operate a taxicab company in the city from eight to four or fewer. The council took no action on the proposal this week, opting to...
Nevada Governor Signs Bills Authorizing Ridesharing Companies
Jun 1 2015 // Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed two bills to regulate ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft in Nevada. Sandoval gave final approval to AB175 and AB176 on Friday, the same day that cab drivers in Las Vegas staged a...
‘On-Tap,’ Temporary Employees Challenging Workers’ Comp: Hartwig
Jun 1 2015 // The workers’ compensation industry must contend with a fast-growing on-demand economy where jobs are filled via apps and more employees are temporary contractors. “Technology is changing how we think about...
Uber, Cab Companies Go to Battle Against New Mexico Regulations
May 29 2015 // The company that operates the ridesharing service Uber wants the New Mexico Supreme Court to overturn new state rules governing transportation network companies. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Uber is joining a...
Uber Discloses Expanded Customer Data Tracking
May 28 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s new privacy policy released Thursday is shorter, easier to read and more expansive than before. The car booking company now more clearly tells its customers it can pretty much track...
Uber and Lyft Fight Proposed NYC Rules – and Each Other
May 28 2015 // Uber and Lyft are among the tech companies pushing back at proposed rules by New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission to regulate car service apps. Uber says the rules break federal law because taxi commissions...