Oi, Europe: join in the sharing economy fun, yells Gov.uk Blighty is demanding Europe make it easier for sharing economy companies by cracking down on those spoilsport member states who "unlawfully" get in their way, Gov.uk said today in a "non-paper" on the subject. "We need a measured approach: putting a hold on reactive bans which don’t recognise the reality of internet-enabled …
I think the tory MP got it right when likening the industry body for the sharing economy to letting pay day loan companies dictate financial services policy.
I personally think that the French are right to challenge Uber, as, indeed some states in the US are now doing on employment rights. A lot of this sharing economy nonsense seems to be an Internet land-grab to become the de-facto portal for making money off other people's businesses.
Imagine a day in the near future where employment agencies start operating along these lines: it'll be zero hours contracts but with fewer employment rights for those on the shop floor.
Ditto. One person taking cash in exchange for a ride-share is fine, great idea. But commercial-scale exploitation of the same certainly looks like just a good way to cut costs by avoiding regulations and denying "employees" the rights they would otherwise have. Show me how this benefits the economy as a whole, rather than just the company running the show, and I'd be all for it, but I don't see it at the moment.
Indeed, I occasionally frequent my local pizza takeaway (small, single-shop business being built up from scratch) and have heard him grumble about the likes of JustEat cutting his margins. Not strictly a 'sharing economy' model but indicative of Internet businesses adding an extra layer of largely unavoidable costs to small businesses just for the end-user convenience/lock in of an app.
The "sharing" economy is about tapping into the excess capacity, spare car seat, free loft space, free time - creating ways to increase efficiency on the use of tools, skills and assets that people, businesses and communities have and to enhance local trade and support people and small businesses.
Uber creates a way for taxis to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of miles that need to be covered and have a lot of flexibility in their lives.
AirBnB allows you to attract visitors and therefore economic activity to your area and let someone else pay apart of your rent when you may have otherwise struggled.
Google takes a margin of all businesses that advertise with them, where as the sharing economy companies only make a revenue if they match a seller with a buyer, not just for a click or a view. Its cost per acquisition marketing.
The industry is still very much in its infancy but will become a force for good. Better management of resources across the board, this is not just about peer-to-peer its the economy - a collaborative approach to consumption will benefit us all. Its about understanding what we have and what we need.
Uber don't help the whole 'force for good' thing with things like threatening journalists with smear campaigns. Better way to use our resources or race to the bottom on wages? Of course you could view workers as a resource to be maximised at minimum cost, in which case yes, more efficient use of resources.
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