Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

'Sharing Economy' Report: Canada Should Limit Airbnb Rentals, Licence Uber Drivers

TORONTO — A new report on the sharing economy suggests governments should screen drivers on platforms such as Uber and limit what kinds of homes can be rented on sites like Airbnb.

In creating the report, research group MaRS Solutions Lab interviewed more than 136 people including taxi drivers, uberX drivers, hotel managers and Airbnb hosts.

Officials from the Ontario and Toronto governments also contributed to the report.

The report makes a series of recommendations for how to effectively regulate the sharing economy.

One of the recommendations says residents should only be allowed to rent out their primary residences — and not secondary or commercial residences — on home-sharing websites like Airbnb for a maximum of 180 days a year.

The report also suggests that every driver should be screened and every vehicle inspected and insured, even if those drivers are operating on platforms like the ride-hailing app, Uber.

Driver training should also be revamped, to compensate for differences in the kinds of training that taxi drivers and Uber drivers receive.

"When it comes to introducing regulation for the sharing economy, governments should not only look at regulating new entrants, but should also revisit current regulations to reduce burden for existing operators," Joeri van den Steenhoven, the director of MaRS Solutions Lab, said in a statement.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: CP

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