Tag Archives: Uber

© Oleksandr Lutsenko | Dreamstime.com After a legal analyis the government of the canton of Geneva has decided that drivers of the ride hailing service are employees rather than independent contractors, effectively banning Uber from operating under its current model. In an interview with RTS, Mauro Poggia, a lawyer and Geneva state councillor, said that Uber is a transport company and as such must employ its drivers. Employees are treated differently to contractors....

In Switzerland Uber grew 30% in the last year, reaching 400,000 active users. It’s not the first time Uber has faced some bumps on the road in canton Geneva. But the latest move requiring the ride-hailing company to treat drivers as employees could spell big changes for the company. Will Uber call it quits or set a precedent for other cities? The thousands of diplomats, business travellers and tourists arriving at Geneva airport every month may soon need to return to...

In Zürich scheint ein lang anhaltendes Zerwürfnis ein mehr oder weniger gnädiges Ende gefunden zu haben. Der Interessenkonflikt zwischen Taxis und Fahrdiensten wie Uber scheint vorläufig entschieden.1 Das verabschiedete Gesetz wird von einigen gelobt und anderen bemängelt, wobei der eigentlichen Problematik leider nur wenig Beachtung geschenkt wird. Es wird Zeit für einen Überblick, der dem interessierten Leser reinen Wein einschenken soll. Wer immer sich mit der Wissenschaft der Ökonomie...

Swiss taxi drivers regularly protest Uber services. (© KEYSTONE / SALVATORE DI NOLFI) Car-and-driver provider Uber has decided to drop its UberPop service in Zurich following controversy over its legality. The change does not apply to Basel or Geneva. The change takes effect on Thursday at midday. Zurich UberPop drivers will have three months to get permits that will allow them to chauffeur passengers for pay under the...

Whether or not San Francisco Fed President John Williams is right about US inflation and employment being about as close to the central bank’s targets as investors have seen – as he told CNBC two days ago – is irrelevant: The central bank is going to raise interest rates two more times this year no matter what happens to consumer prices, says Credit Suisse Chief Investment Officer for Switzerland Burkhard Varnholt....

Disruption is either the gospel or the monster of the new millennium, depending which side of the trade you’re on. Every technology company worth its salt is aiming to disrupt something, and enough of them are succeeding that many conventional businesses face an existential threat. Why get a hotel room when you can rent a house or apartment on Airbnb? Why wait for a taxi when an Uber will come at the touch of a button? Why employ humans when there are faster, more precise robots?   But...

It’s not that the sharing economy itself is a new idea. Monasteries loaned books to the public in the Middle Ages, farmers have shared tools and labor for centuries, and the first known car rental service popped up in 1904. What is new is how quickly an extremely varied set of companies built around sharing, renting, collaborating, and accessing items on-demand are growing, thanks in large part to the proliferation of smartphones. There are 44 privately held sharing-oriented businesses that...