We scour the internet to find the most interesting news on the collaborative consumption front. Here are our picks for the week:
Uber, Lyft rebuffed in bids to deem drivers independent contractors
Fortune
Ride hailing apps Uber and Lyft failed to persuade separate U.S. judges to rule that their drivers are independent contractors instead of employees, in cases that have wide implications for Silicon Valley “sharing economy” firms.
Millennials Insist The Future Will Be Shared
Mike Montgomery, TechCrunch
In California, the state Department of Motor Vehicles threatened the future of ride sharing by dusting off a 1930s law that requires Lyft, Sidecar and Uber drivers to get commercial license plates if they are picking up passengers. This despite rulings by the California Public Utilities Commission and a new law signed last year reaffirming that personal vehicles can be used by ride-sharing drivers.
Uber, Airbnb, and the Food System: How We Can Make Local Food More Affordable
Jennifer Goggin, Huffington Post
One of the most expensive obstacles these farmers face is a lack of infrastructure through which food can be quickly and efficiently distributed. So the question becomes: how can we move food more directly from local farms to the end consumer, ensuring that a greater number of people are able to afford these fresh, healthy products?
Sharing Services Will Continue to Dominate in 2015
Paul DeLong, Huffington Post
A recent consumer report conducted by Ericsson found that nearly three-quarters of smartphone users are open to embracing sharing services. As 2015 progresses, consumers should expect to see an increase in popularity for these sharing platforms, which found strong footholds solving the everyday problems of average Americans.
Office Building in Amsterdam will become “Sharing Tower”
The Sharing Tower wants to make the next generation employees and entrepreneurs a part of the sharing economy. The sharing economy is based on openness, mobility, flexibility, transparency, freedom, and, above all, shareability and ‘The Sharing Tower’ will be revitalized and redesigned entirely around these values.
