Road Trip Update and Next Steps for Shareconomy the Film

Welcome back!

Last fall we wrapped up our Indiegogo campaign and started planning Shareconomy's next steps. Through crowdfunding we raised an incredible $15K which allowed us to travel across the United States and complete several key interviews. This trip broadened our sphere of influence and got us to places in America where the sharing economy is making an impact.

These additional interviews and those we completed before will be the foundation for Shareconomy the film. It was especially important that we capture the varying stances on the collaborative economy. We interviewed everyone from platform founders and users, to state assemblymen, to sociology experts, to people we met on the streets. By investigating every side of the sharing economy we can better determine it's progression and future impact.

We also integrated ourselves in the sharing economy community as much as possible. We stayed with Airbnb hosts, were fed by strangers, and tried our best to use collaborative platforms when we could. This was not only a great way to travel, and lots of fun, it also put us in the shoes of those using the sharing economy every day.

So after 10,000 miles and six cities we are back in Seattle and ready for the next steps in completing the film. Currently we are rolling into post-production. We are very excited to be working with Killer Infographics who will create the motion graphics for Shareconomy. 

We thank everyone for all the great support we've received and can't wait to finish the project. In the meantime check out some of the photos we took on our trip.

Thank you!

Home for the next 10k Miles

Leaving Seattle

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

 Jillian participating on a Sharing Economy panel at the PCI Legislative and Political Conference

Meal Sharing Founder, Jay Savsani

Meal Sharing Host Huan

Street Interviews in Chicago

Meal Sharing Host Hanne

Madison, WI

Interviewing Stephanie Rearick, Founder and Co-Director of the Dane County TimeBank

Detriot, MI

Joe Louis Monument

Interview with Philip Cooley, Co-Founder of Ponyride.

New York City, NY

Brookyln Bridge, NY

Getting footage from the "Top of the Rock"

Interviewing Richard Gottifried, NY State Assembly Member

Washington D.C.

Ride Along with TaskRabbit Marc

Niagra Falls

Greg makes a friend

Buffalo, NY

10,000 miles and we are home!

Shareconomy Live Photos and Stream

Shareconomy had it's second live event last Monday at the Impact Hub Seattle. The event featured the extended trailer, interviews and a live panel of sharing economy influencers. Check out the slideshow of photos and video of the event below.

Thank you so much to Chalkcar for livestreaming our event!

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

A huge thank you to Impact Hub Seattle for hosting and our awesome panelists for joining us! Watch the stream and let us know what you think!

Seattle decides in favor of Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.

Back in March, Seattle city council voted to heavily regulate ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft by capping the number of active vehicles to 150 each. Considering Uber claims to have around 1,000 drivers in the city, this initiative would have severely limited each company's capacity to meet demand.  Yet by mid-April these regulations were suspended due to more than 36,000 signatures on a repeal petition (double the 16,510 required to force a public vote).

Now, after more than a year of debate, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced an agreement between the taxi industry and ride-share apps. App-based transportation platforms such as Lyft, Uber and Sidecar can continue to operate without any limit of drivers. The key terms of the deal include:

• Transportation network companies and their drivers will be licensed and required to meet specific insurance requirements.
• The City will work with the industry to clarify or change state insurance law to account for recent changes in the industry, similar to recent actions in Colorado.
• There will be no cap on the number of transportation network company drivers.
• The City will provide 200 new taxi licenses over the next four years.
• Taxi and for-hire licenses will transition to a property right that is similar to a medallion in other cities.
• For-hire drivers will have hailing rights.
• An accessibility fund will be created through a $0.10 per ride surcharge for drivers and owners to offset higher trip and vehicle costs for riders who require accessibility services.

This is a huge change from the March decision not only because of the unlimited drivers, but also because you can now hail for-hire drivers, a right originally reserved for taxi's only. 

“I believe Seattle once again will lead the nation in showing how what appears to be conflicting interests can actually come together,” Murray said after announcing the agreement. “We have deregulated a highly regulated monopoly, allowing taxis and for-hires to become far more competitive than they are in the current situation. We are recognizing that a technology exists that is rapidly changing the marketplace.”

GreenCab Taxi General Manager Chris Van Dyk, talked with Geekwire about the decision:

“The experience in Seattle in years past, in San Francisco and in Ireland now, is that if you have unlimited entry, if you have no limit on the number of taxi and for-hire vehicles, operators simply cannot make a living wage, and the industry goes to hell in a handbasket, and in a relatively short time,” Van Dyk told GeekWire. “The economics of the industry are counter-intuitive, because of the low threshold of entry. Apps do not change this.”

We have yet to hear if the taxi industry will choose to fight the decision or not. 

Seattle joins a small handful of cities allowing ride-sharing apps including Chicago. It seems like every city has a different attitude when it comes to the sharing economy, Miami police are impounding Lyft drivers while Uber is banned in Brussels and in high court in London. We're curious to see if this decision holds in Seattle and if will influence other cities still in debate. Regardless, it's becoming more and more obvious that the sharing economy is here to stay.

Check out the complete article by Geekwire and let us know what you think.

Seattle Suspends ride sharing regulations one month after passage

Just one month ago, Seattle City Council enacted new regulations on rideshare companies like Uber and Airbnb. Yesterday, Uber, Lyft and Sidecar submitted more than 36,000 signatures on a repeal petition forcing a public vote. An ordinance so challenged is suspended until the public vote.

The suspension — whatever happens in the future — is a major victory for companies offering an alternative to Seattle’s much-criticized taxicab service.

In a wider sense, it is a win for the city’s technology economy, which took to heart the cause of ride sharing, arguing that Seattle must be a 21st century city open to innovation and new ways of providing services.

This is huge news for not only Seattle ridesharing companies, but for the technology driven collaborative economy in general. A public voice this strong is an obvious indicator of the popularity of sharing economy services.

Check out the entire article on the Seattle Pi's Blog and let us know what you think. Is Seattle's response to city regulation only the beginning? 

Seattle City Council Votes to Limit Rideshare Services

City legislation around the world are making decisions on where they stand in the sharing economy. We've seen San Francisco Announce their Sharing Economy Working Group and have become the poster child of American Shareable cities. Other cities like Amsterdam and Seoul, Korea have been endorsing the sharing economy and are actively working to become shareable cities. Even the United States Congress has started to address the sharing economy and it's impact. But not everyone is convinced that this movement is right for their city. Portland, Oregon has opted to exclude ridesharing until it can fully understand potential impact.

The latest news is from Seattle, Washington where city council has met several times over the last few months to discuss ridesharing and recently decided that they would limit the amount of rideshare services to 150 drivers (per company) on the street at any given time of the day. So far the ruling seems to satisfy no one. Lyft, Uber and Sidecar all released statements of extreme disappointment in the ruling.

In a statement, Lyft outlined its objections.

By passing an ordinance that does not prioritize public safety or support consumer choice, members of Seattle’s City Council have shown that their sole intent is to eliminate competition and protect existing industries in Seattle. This ordinance will eliminate Lyft in Seattle; local residents who drive for Lyft on their way to work, while they are running errands, or on the weekends to make ends meet will no longer be able to act as drivers, especially when passengers who have chosen to live car-free in Seattle need them most. While safety is often brought up as a reason to apply an old regulatory model to an innovative transportation solution, the truth is that new technology provides an opportunity to increase safety above and beyond what has been done previously. In comparison to existing requirements, Lyft’s $1M commercial liability policy is more than three times the $300,000 requirement of Seattle taxis. Despite today’s disappointing decision, we will continue to stand strong as a community and do everything possible to ensure a path forward that allows ridesharing to thrive in Seattle.

San Francisco’s Uber released a statement by its general manager in Seattle,  Brooke Steger.

It is extremely disappointing that the Seattle City Council Committee on Taxi, For-hire and Limousine Regulations has chosen to ignore the tens of thousands of their constituents who support uberX and, instead, decided it is a good policy to protect the taxi industry and effectively shut down uberX in Seattle as we know it. This decision will put hundreds of small businesses out of work and leave them without an opportunity to earn a living. The Committee has sent a strong message that they support the status quo over opportunity, transportation choices and safety. We hope when these regulations come to the full Council that innovation and safety win the day.

And Sidecar weighed in with a statement similarly expressing disappointment.

Sidecar is focused on offering safe and affordable transportation in Seattle. We share the Seattle City Council’s goal of making transportation safe for its residents. In fact, we have safety measures in place that exceed what is required by Seattle taxis. But the City Council’s decision today to cap the number of Seattle rideshare drivers is not about safety. It’s designed to protect the taxi industry by eliminating competition.These regulations move Seattle in the opposite direction of innovation by restricting consumer choice for residents who depend on safe and affordable transportation alternatives like Sidecar. Seattle residents want choice in transportation. We are disappointed that the Seattle City Council moved in favor of regulations designed to protect the narrow business interests of the taxi industry over the interests of its citizens.

- Check out SFGate's Blog Post for more info

It's easy for supporters of the peer economy to be upset by rulings such as this but these aren't easy decisions to make. April Rinne explains the dilemma best in her perspective piece "How Shareable is Your City".

To date, city governments and the sharing economy companies have rarely been seen as partners. More often, city leaders have dealt with transformative new business models from a reactionary position.  This is understandable: the rules governing many new businesses were developed for an industrial age in which mass consumption and ownership were the norm, and before today’s technologies existed, so they don’t fit within current regulatory structures. Moreover, regulators must strike a balance between competing pressures – from the public, incumbents and a variety of other stakeholders – to encourage innovation and maintain public safety.

The proposal in Seattle still needs to be officially passed by the entire city council on March 10 and would take effect 30 days after being signed into law by Mayor Ed Murray. 

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think city council's ruling was fair? If so fair to whom?