Latest Sharing Economy Headlines
All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EU Court Rules Uber Should Be Regulated as Transport Firm, Not an App
Dec 20 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. suffered a defeat when the European Union’s top court ruled its ride-hailing service should be regulated as a transport company, a decision that could set a precedent for the burgeoning gig...
Is Uber an App or Transport Firm? EU’s Top Court to Rule This Week
Dec 18 2017 // A debate in Europe over whether ride-hailing app Uber is merely a digital company or one providing transport services will be decided when the top European Union court hands down its verdict on Wednesday in a highly...
Uber’s Food-Delivery Business to Provide Insurance for Couriers in Europe
Dec 15 2017 // Uber’s food-delivery business will begin offering an insurance package to its couriers in Europe, a move to address the conditions of “gig economy” workers. Riders for food-delivery companies such as Uber...
Investor Sues Uber Directors Over $680M Acquisition of Autonomous Car Firm
Dec 14 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. directors were accused of failing to properly review the ride-sharing company’s $680 million acquisition of a self-driving technology firm that wound up being accused of stealing trade secrets...
Uber to Settle U.S. Lawsuit by Indian Woman Raped by Driver
Dec 11 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. and a woman who accused top executives of improperly obtaining her medical records after a company driver raped her in India have agreed to settle a civil lawsuit the woman filed against Uber in...
‘Rideshare Guy’ Says 60-80% of Drivers Still Don’t Have Correct Insurance
Dec 8 2017 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv He calls himself “The Rideshare Guy” and he’s become one of the more prolific voices covering the still-burgeoning business. When Uber and Lyft were at the point in...
Florida AG Investigating Uber Over Data Breach Affecting 32K Drivers
Dec 7 2017 // Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the state is now investigating ride-sharing service Uber over an alleged cover up of a national data breach. Bondi said Dec. 1 that her office has issued a subpoena to Uber. The...
Uber’s UK Data Breach Exposed Accounts of 2.7M Customers in 2016
Nov 30 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. said information from 2.7 million U.K. customers was taken in a 2016 security breach that hit 57 million riders and drivers globally and that the company kept secret from the public and authorities...
Uber Paid Hackers to Hide Breach of 50 Million Customer, Driver Records
Nov 22 2017 // Hackers stole the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers from Uber Technologies Inc., a massive breach that the company concealed for more than a year. This week, the ride-hailing firm ousted its chief security...
Uber, Transitioning to Fleet Operator, Orders 24,000 Driverless Cars from Volvo
Nov 21 2017 // Uber plans to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo, marking the transition of the U.S. firm from an app used to summon a taxi to the owner and operator of a fleet of cars. The non-binding framework deal could...
Uber, Tech Firms Helping Their Contract Workers Sign onto Obamacare
Nov 14 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. and some smaller technology companies are launching campaigns to publicize Obamacare enrollment among their contract workers after the Trump administration slashed government marketing for the health...
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...
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...