Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

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

Bill Allowing Uber to Stay in South Carolina is Officially Law

Jul 2 2015 // Uber is staying in South Carolina. After the transportation network company (TNC) was halted by the state’s Public Service Commission in January and then granted a temporary license through June 30, South Carolina...

Two Uber Executives Detained by French Police Pending Investigation

Jun 30 2015 // French police have detained two executives from Uber for questioning as a government clampdown intensifies on the U.S.-based taxi and ride-sharing service. Thibaud Simphal, manager of Uber France, and Pierre-Dimitri...

Ridesharing Apps in California Get Kids Around When Parents Are Busy

Jun 26 2015 // Sacha Simmons used to dread taking a taxi to her high school or someplace else to hang out with her teenage friends when her parents weren’t around to give her a ride. Sometimes, the cab drivers wouldn’t show...

Penn. Advises Rideshare Drivers to Carefully Examine Insurance Coverage

Jun 25 2015 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller is urging potential drivers for rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to consult with their insurance companies to ensure adequate coverage for themselves and...

NYC’s Taxi Regulatory Agency OKs New App Rules for Uber, Lyft

Jun 24 2015 // New York City’s taxi regulatory agency on Monday approved new rules governing how Uber and other app-based car services operate within the five boroughs. Part of the proposal unanimously passed allows the companies...

New Worker Classification Needed for Sharing Economy, Uber Drivers

Jun 24 2015 // This question of whether an Uber driver is an employee doesn’t matter just to Uber. As you may have heard, the on-demand car-service juggernaut lost a case early this month before the California Labor Commissioner on...

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....