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Should We Regulate Internet Companies Like Uber And Airbnb

1019 Words5 Pages

Should we regulate internet companies like Uber and Airbnb? The so-called ‘sharing economy’ has experienced a staggering rate of growth in the last decade, with companies like Uber and Airbnb paving the way for a new form of service provision. Uber, a ride sharing service set up in 2007, with an estimated net worth of over $60 billion in 2015 (Bloomberg), has seen a phenomenal rate of growth, which was accelerated by the launch of the cheaper ‘UberX’ in 2008 (figure 1). Airbnb, worth approximately $20 billion in 2015 (Skift), is described as a short term rental platform service, and has seen similar exponential growth rates (figure 2). These two examples are merely the tip of the iceberg in this micro-entrepreneurial revolution - this new format …show more content…

New York City taxi driver’s accident rates are one-third lower than other drivers, on a per-mile basis (Schaller Consulting), and in 2015 the number of Uber affiliated vehicles on the road in NYC surpassed the number yellow taxicabs (14,0833 to 13, 587 according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission). As a result, opponents of Uber claim it’s growth has led to a higher number of ‘dangerous’ drivers on the road, creating a greater chance of road accidents -some suggest drivers monitoring the app itself is dangerous as this creates a …show more content…

While taxis are required by law to provide access to passengers in wheelchairs, there is no such provision ensured by Uber. Equally, Airbnb hosts are under no obligation to provide wheelchair accessible properties. In this way, some customers may benefit from lower prices (due to the lack of regulation on equal provision) however disabled consumers will lose out, hence it will not be a Pareto improvement. Uber drivers not being required to work certain areas exemplifies this again, and has resulted in certain areas in cities becoming black spots for transport provision. Figure 3 shows the wait times for an Uber across Washington DC, with the poorest regions like Bellevue and Washington height waiting the longest, and sometimes struggling to get an Uber at

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