Sharing Economy Index Archives - Consumer Choice Center

Tallinn, Estonia leads the sharing economy index globally

June 30, 2020
By ccc
In Consumer Goods/Lifestyle, Recent Media, Sharing Economy Index, Transportation
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Tallinn leads the way as one of the most sharing-economy friendly cities. Its low level of regulation of ride-hailing and flat-sharing services along with openness to e-scooters, and outstanding innovation in the digital space helped take it to the first place. Estonia is well-known for its booming digital state, Consumer Choice Center reports.

The sharing economy has transformed our lives in a variety of ways. Booking holiday accommodation via flatsharing platforms and grabbing our phone to order a rideshare when we are late to a meeting is a habit many of us share. The innovative nature of the sharing economy has led to its undeniable success. But now, those benefits to consumers are often undermined by excessive regulation and taxation. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown both how much the sharing economy helped consumers access essential goods and services, while at the same time revealing the very real restrictions and regulations that undermine them.

Consumer Choice Center’s Sharing Economy Index is seeking to rank some of the world’s most dynamic cities and to provide a valuable guide for consumers about the sharing economy services available to them.

Originally published here.

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Москва заняла 4–е место в мире по доступности шеринговых сервисов.

Что об этом думают российские предприниматели. Какова методика составителей Sharing Economy Index, насколько его результаты соответствуют действительности?

Американский исследовательский центр Consumer Choice Center в конце мая опубликовал отчет Sharing Economy Index, в котором ранжировал 52 «наиболее динамичных города мира» по доступности в них шеринговых сервисов. 4-е и 5-е места в нем заняли Москва и Санкт-Петербург. В первую тройку вошли Таллин, Вильнюс и Рига, а в хвосте рейтинга оказались, например, Амстердам, Прага и Токио. Republic попытался разобраться с тем, по каким принципам составлен индекс и насколько его результаты соответствуют действительности – во всяком случае, в России.

Полностью топ-10 индекса выглядит так:

7 строчек из 10 занимают города бывшего СССР и столица некогда
социалистической Польши. В нижние же 10 строчек попали столицы тоже социалистических в прошлом Болгарии, Чехии и Словении вместе с городами из капиталистических Нидерландов, Греции и Ирландии.

В разделе «Методика» объясняется, по какому принципу городам
начислялись баллы. Авторы рассматривали доступность и степень
законодательного регулирования трех типов сервисов: ride-hailing (Uber, Lyft и аналогичные сервисы), флэтшеринг (например, Airbnb) и прокат электрических самокатов (e-scooters).

Например, за ride-hailing город мог получить максимум 25 баллов:

10 – за то, что такой сервис в принципе доступен в городе; еще 5 – если для пользования им не нужно получать специальную лицензию разрешение;
еще 5 – если райдхейлинг не облагается никакими дополнительными налогами и сборами, помимо НДС и налога на прибыль;
и еще 5 – за доступность соответствующих приложений.

В конце доклада авторы отмечают, что регуляций скоро может стать больше: в Таллине хотят ввести лицензии для тех, кто сдает жилье через Airbnb, а в Праге – ограничить длительность такой сдачи. В то же время, пишут они, в разных городах появляются местные аналоги глобальных сервисов шеринга, такие как приложения Cool и GoMore для флэтшеринга, соответственно, в Валетте и Копенгагене.
Акцент на госрегуляциях понятен: Consumer Choice Center был основан в 2017 году как проект либертарианского молодежного НКО Students For Liberty. А либертарианцы выступают против госрегулирования. Вот как объясняет полученные результаты одна из авторов доклада и ассоциированный исследователь Consumer Choice Center по европейскому региону Мария Чапля: Мы анализировали различные онлайн-источники, чтобы понять, в каких городах предлагается больше шеринговых сервисов. Как выходец из Восточной Европы, а именно Украины, мне было особенно приятно узнать, что Восточная Европа лидирует. Похоже, посткоммунистическое прошлое и свойственное нам недоверие к правительству сделало нас более открытыми к peer-to-peer решениям в наших странах.

Однако результаты не нужно интерпретировать в пользу появления большего количества регуляций в нашем регионе. Напротив, чем меньше регуляций, тем всегда лучше для потребителей. Наш индекс дает представление о разнообразии возможностей, с помощью которых вы можете сделать свое пребывание в том или ином городе лучше. Мы попросили прокомментировать выводы исследователей двух представителей российского каршерингового бизнеса. Екатерина Макарова, сооснователь сервиса BelkaCar: Если отложить в сторону коронавирус – то в Москве на данный момент самое
либеральное по отношению к каршерингу законодательство, это самый открытый город с точки зрения шеринг-экономики в целом.
В Европе более жесткие требования для выхода на рынок, часто
разыгрывается определенное количество парковочных разрешений, которое не всегда соответствует нуждам города. Это обязательно должны быть электромобили, соответственно, они достаточно сильно привязаны к инфраструктуре (которой в России пока нет), плюс абсолютно другие нормы соответствия экологическим требованиям.
На согласования, тендеры, внутреннее регулирование и процедуры уходит очень много времени, поэтому и темпы развития каршеринга в Европе и России принципиально разные. В Москве предприниматель за год может совершить на рынке революцию, у европейских игроков и близко нет такой существовало достаточно много небольших каршеринговых операторов, которые смогли запуститься в Москве и регионах – просто вышли на рынок и
начали работать. Анатолий Файфель, предприниматель, инвестор сервиса «СтрелКар» (Саратов):

За модным словом «каршеринг» на самом деле скрывается обычный договор на прокат транспортного средства, и никаких особых правовых норм для каршеринга не выдумано. Во всяком случае, пока. Поэтому госрегуляция влияет на каршеринговый бизнес как и на любой другой бизнес в России – не упрощает ему жизнь, но и не убивает. И надо отметить, что появление каршеринга, например, в Москве, есть следствие госрегуляции применительно ко всем автовладельцам. Сегодня обывателю перемещаться на личном автомобиле по столице довольно обременительно из-за платных парковок, в то время как для каршеринговых автомобилей городские парковки бесплатны. В других регионах администрации городов благосклонно относятся к приходу каршерингов – особой госрегуляции не ощущается. Относительно готовности людей к каршерингу нужно четко сегментировать пользователей. Жители Москвы и Санкт-Петербурга в возрасте до 40 лет уже понимают, что машина – это серьезное обременение, нужно тратиться на налоги, страховку, техническое обслуживание, переплачивать по кредиту (если автомобиль кредитный) при том, что автовладельцу нужно, скажем, один-два раза в неделю доехать из точки А в точку B. А автомобиль ведь еще и дешевеет каждый день – просто из-за того, что стареет. Этими людьми автомобиль не рассматривается как актив. Поэтому каршеринг – удачное решение всех проблем, связанных с владением автомобилем. Другое дело в провинции – там автомобиль по-прежнему рассматривается людьми как актив. Они готовы инвестировать в его обслуживание время и деньги. Однако уже и там автомобиль постепенно теряет свою «сакральность»: затраты на обслуживание автомобиля в столице и в провинции примерно одинаковые, а уровень доходов различается в разы. Поэтому так или иначе, но каршеринг начинает заходить в провинцию, хоть и с некоторым отставанием от столицы.

Originally published here.

Ποιες ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις ευνοούν την οικονομία του διαμοιρασμού

Η πόλη Ταλίν της Εσθονίας είναι μια από τις πόλεις που υποστηρίζει την οικονομία διαμοιρασμού, σύμφωνα με τον δείκτη του Consumer Choice Center.

Το χαμηλό ρυθμιστικό πλαίσιο για την παροχή υπηρεσιών sharing economy σε διαμερίσματα και αυτοκίνητα και οι αξιοσημείωτες ψηφιακές καινοτομίες της πόλης, είναι ο λόγος που η πόλη βρέθηκε στην πρώτη θέση στην κατάταξη.

Η λίστα του δείκτη του Consumer Choice Center κατατάσσει τις πόλεις που πήραν την καλύτερη βαθμολογία στις υπηρεσίες της οικονομίας του διαμοιρασμού.

Η πιο εκπληκτική παρατήρηση των αποτελεσμάτων είναι ότι από τις εννέα ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις στην κορυφή της λίστας, οι οκτώ μοιράζονται ένα κομμουνιστικό παρελθόν.

Από την άλλη πλευρά, η Πράγα, το Δουβλίνο, το Άμστερνταμ, η Μπρατισλάβα, η Λιουμπλιάνα, η Σόφια, το Τόκιο, η Χάγη, η πόλη του Λουξεμβούργου και η Αθήνα βρίσκονται στο κάτω μέρος της λίστας.

Ο δείκτης sharing economy

1 Ταλίν / Εσθονία 100
2 Βίλνιους / Λιθουανία 95
2 Ρίγα / Λετονία 95
2 Μόσχα / Ρωσία 95
2 Αγία Πετρούπολη / Ρωσία 95
2 Βαρσοβία / Πολωνία 95
2 Κίεβο / Ουκρανία 95
2 Σάο Πάολο / Βραζιλία 95
9 Τιφλίδα / Γεωργία 90
9 Ελσίνκι / Φινλανδία 90

Originally published here.

KYIV IS AMONG THE TOP 10 CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHARING ECONOMY

Kyiv is among the ten cities with the best level of development of sharing services. The assessment was conducted on the level of access to such services as Uber and Airbnb, electronic scooters, applications for sharing professional cars, the ability to rent a car from private owners, as well as access to all gyms in Kyiv from a single mobile application. The results of the rating were published by the Consumer Choice Center.

In particular, the best sharing services are developed in Tallinn, Vilnius, Riga, Warsaw, Kyiv, Sao Paulo, Tbilisi, and other cities.

According to the authors of the rating, it is the first of its kind and its purpose is to inform consumers about which cities best provide the greatest variety of services of sharing nature and guarantee easy access to them.

In total, the ranking was conducted in 52 cities around the world.

It is very important for Kyiv and Ukraine, in general, to remain open to innovation and the economy of sharing consumption, because they not only ensure the well-being of Ukrainian consumers but also make our country more attractive to foreigners.

Currently, in the capital in the field of sharing services, among others, an investment project bike-sharing from the Next Bike with 45 rental points is being implemented and a project for renting electric scooters is being prepared for implementation.

Originally published here.

SHARING ECONOMY WAITING FOR NORMALCY – PREFERABLY WITHOUT REGULATIONS

Businesses focusing on the rental of cars, apartments and certain services aren’t going through their best moment after being hit by ‘the new normality’, in which social distancing is essential.

Two months ago, sharing economy, or the collaborative economy businesses (where customers rely on each other to meet needs) were seen as the perfect model for a more sustainable future, despite always being wrapped in controversy.

According to the PwC consultancy, it was estimated that companies in the five most important sectors of Europe’s collaborative economy would generate approximately 300 billion euros by 2025. The figure is over ten times higher than the 28 billion euros produced in 2015. But now, the financial model for the sharing economy could be heading to the crisis.

A good example of this is Airbnb, the holiday rental platform that has caused a lot of trouble for the hotel industry. In 2013, Spain reported 37,310 tourist apartments, one-tenth of the number of hotel rooms. But by 2019, the platform already had 413,033 tourist rooms, only 2,000 less than hotels.

However, Airbnb’s growth has been slowed by the COVID-19 crisis. In early May, Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of the platform, revealed his plan to lay off 1,900 employees, 25% of the total workforce, in addition to an investment cut and the total halt of projects in hotel divisions, luxury experiences, transport and audiovisual productions.

At a time when social distancing is enforced, sharing is not a viable option. Currently, many activities and sectors are not operating for health reasons. The case of peer-to-peer platform models is no exception. If the underlying activity in these models is subject to temporary suspension, whether partial or total, as in the case of tourism or transport of people, these platforms cannot operate normally.

For BlaBlaCar, a service in which people share car rides, reinventing itself has been the only way to survive the crisis. In April, the company launched BlaBlaHelp, a service to put volunteers in contact with neighbors who need help to shop for groceries.

So, will these businesses ever return to their former glory? As soon as the business will return to normalcy and obviously with the proper sanitary guarantees, there is no doubt that these models and new ones that will emerge will continue to operate due to their traceability, sustainability and efficiency in the use of resources, among other things.

However, as tourism gradually revives in some countries, questions need to be asked about the taxation and regulations imposed on the field of the sharing economy. The current pandemic has shown both how the collaborative economy has been able to help citizens access essential goods and services while revealing the very real restrictions and regulations that undermine them, which should be approved and encouraged.

The Consumer Choice Center published an index of the sharing economy. It provides a valuable insight into many of the services consumers value most and how to access them.

Tallinn is one of the most supportive cities of the collaborative economy. Its low level of regulation of car-pooling and flat-sharing services, as well as its openness to electronic scooters and its remarkable digital innovations, is the reason for its first place in the ranking. Estonia is indeed well known for its digital boom.

The top ten cities all score very well in car-pooling, which means that they do not overburden this important part of the economy with municipal taxes or special permit requirements.

The most surprising observation of this study is that of the nine European cities at the top of the list, eight share a communist past. The distress of the past dominated by the totalitarian state would, therefore, have made these countries more open to the collaborative economy.

On the other side, Prague, Dublin, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Sofia, Tokyo, The Hague, Luxembourg City and Athens are at the very bottom of the list. These cities have opted for over-regulation to the detriment of consumer interests.

The Sharing Economy Index

RANK	CITY/COUNTRY	TOTAL SCORE
1	Tallinn/Estonia	100
2	Vilnius/Lithuania	95
2	Riga/Latvia	95
2	Moscow/Russia	95
2	St. Petersburg/Russia	95
2	Warsaw/Poland	95
2	Kyiv/Ukraine	95
2	São Paulo/Brazil	95
9	Tbilisi/Georgia	90
9	Helsinki/Finland	90

Originally published here.

We Need the Gig Economy Now More Than Ever

Forced to limit our social interactions to get through this pandemic, millions of us are using apps and online services to try to bring some measure of normalcy and convenience to our lives.

Demand for food and alcohol delivery is through the roof and thousands of other platforms are still popular and ripe for a comeback once restrictions and lockdowns are lifted.

But for many users and consumers, the pandemic is revealing the very real regulatory problems limiting the sharing economy.

Especially now, we need functioning and smart laws that empower those who use the gig economy, not penalize them. This is especially true for low-income Americans, who are more than likely to use these services to supplement their incomes or save money.

In California, the sweeping law that went into effect in January classifies practically all workers as employees. This measure has, as predicted, practically wiped out the state’s 5 million freelancers and contractors, removing their ability to gain independent income.

Instead of hiring freelancers full-time, companies have been eliminating positions or leaving the state altogether.

Musicians, freelance journalists and rideshare drivers, who once benefitted from their independent status, have found it more difficult to make a living. It’s no surprise that practically every industry has been jockeying for an exemption and a rewrite of the law is eminent.

For home sharing, local jurisdictions have placed caps on the number of properties available for short-term rentals, curtailing the supply. New York City and Seattle require hosts to obtain both business and rental licenses that can cost thousands of dollars.

In cities such as Des Moines and Las Vegas, rental properties cannot be within 600 feet of each other, and countless others require audits of how many guests can be in each bedroom. That’s put homeowners in a pinch, and revealed the lobbying efforts behind those restrictions.

Too often, regulators and politicians have folded to the demands of the industries that once held monopolies over hospitality services, such as hotels and car rental agencies.

In many states, for instance, rental car companies have banded to severely restrict peer-to-peer car-sharing apps, such as Turo and Getaround, which allow car owners to rent out their vehicles to drivers for reasonable rates.

In states like Florida and Arizona, Enterprise and National Car Rental have succeeded in lobbying to ban these apps from offering vehicles at prime locations such as airports and requiring them to collect rental car fees.

These are the types of restrictions and anti-consumer laws that are not only holding back the gig economy but are threatening its existence altogether.

Of course, the effects of the pandemic on the sharing economy cannot be overstated. The behemoth sharing economy companies such as Airbnb, Uber and Lime are struggling with fewer people traveling and using their services. But that is not how we should measure the success of the gig economy.

The promise of the sharing economy has never been about gains on Wall Street, bold corporate executives or even profits for investors. It is not about a single company’s bottom line or its market share. Rather, it has always been about offering new and innovative options to empower people like you and me to improve our lives.

The sharing economy empowers both consumers and entrepreneurs to creatively and collaboratively use or lend resources they otherwise wouldn’t. That allows people to earn additional income as owners and save money as users.

Whether it is ridesharing, carsharing, home sharing, the sharing of tools, or e-scooter rentals, the regulations on the sharing economy should not make them more difficult to use or from which to profit.

If regulators want to help consumers and owners, they should take legislative steps to legalize or ease restrictions on all sharing economy services. Giving people more access to sharing economy services would provide much-needed income to families in need and would help reduce costs for millions more.

The question is not whether the gig economy should be regulated or not. It is whether it is accessible or not. Reasonable and smart regulation would solve those issues.

Originally published here.

თბილისი გაზიარებითი ეკონომიკის მხრივ მსოფლიოს 10 ყველაზე მეგობრულ ქალაქს შორის მოხვდა

თბილისი გაზიარებითი ეკონომიკის მხრივ მსოფლიოს 10 ყველაზე მეგობრულ ქალაქს შორის მოხვდა. საერთაშორისო ორგანიზაცია “Consumer Choice Center”-მა გამოაქვეყნა ინდექსი, რომელშიც შეფასებულია მსოფლიოს 52 დინამიური ქალაქი მათი ღიაობის მიხედვით გაზიარებითი ეკონომიკისადმი.

ინდექსი თავის მხრივ პირველია და გამოყენებულ იქნება მომხმარებელთა ინფორმირებისთვის, თუ რომელი ქალაქი უზრუნველყოფს უკეთ ეკონომიკის ამ მოდელზე აგებული სერვისების მრავალფეროვნებას და მხარს უჭერს მომხმარებელთა მიერ მათ ხელმისაწვდომობას.

ინდექსის მიხედვით პირველ ათეულში შევიდნენ: ტალინი, ვილნიუსი, რიგა, მოსკოვი, სანქტ-პეტერბურგი, ვარშავა, კიევი, სან-პაულუ, თბილისი და ჰელსინკი.

სიის ბოლოში მოექცნენ: პრაღა, დუბლინი, ამსტერდამი, ბრატისლავა, ლუბლიანა, სოფია, ტოკიო, ჰააგა, ლუქსემბურგი და ათენი. აღნიშნული ქალაქებისთვის დამახასიათებელია მთავრობათა მიერ გადაჭარბებული რეგულირება როგორც კომპანიების, ასევე მომხმარებელთა ინტერესების საწინააღმდეგოდ.

“თბილისი გაზიარებითი ეკონომიკის თავისუფლების მხრივ მე-9 ადგილზეა, მაგრამ აღსანიშნავია ის ფაქტი, რომ 2019 წლის ტაქსების რეგულაცია რომ არ განხორციელებულიყო, რამაც დიდად დააზარალა მძღოლები, იგი პირველ ადგილს დაიკავებდა და გაუსწრებდა ევროპის ყველა ქალაქს’’ – განაცხადა თამარ ტარსაიძემ, კვლევის თანაავტორმა.

კვლევის ფარგლებში შემოწმდა მსოფლიოს 52 დინამიური ქალაქი ტაქსის აპლიკაციებზე, ელექტრონულ სკუტერებზე, ბინების გაქირავების პლატფორმებზე, მანქანების გაქირავებაზე როგორც კომპანიების, ასევე კერძო პირების მიერ და ბოლოს – სპორტული დარბაზების გაზიარების აპლიკაციებზე.

სრული კვლევა, რომელიც მოიცავს ქალაქების რეიტინგს და მათი თანმიმდევრობის განსაზღვრის მეთოდოლოგიას, ხელმისაწვდომია ორგანიზაციის ვებ-გვერდზე: https://consumerchoicecenter.org/sharing-economy-index-2020/

Originally published here.

Revealed World’s Top 10 Sharing Economy Friendly Cities

Today, the Consumer Choice Center launched its Sharing Economy Index highlighting some of the world’s most dynamic cities by their sharing economy friendliness.

The index is the first of its kind and should be used to inform consumers about which city is doing the best job providing the greatest variety of sharing economy services and ensures easy access to them.

The top 10 cities according to the index are Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Kyiv, São Paulo, Tbilisi, and Helsinki. On the other hand, Prague, Dublin, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Sofia, Tokyo, The Hague, Luxembourg City, and Athens found themselves at the very bottom of the list.

Maria Chaplia, European Affairs Associate at the Consumer Choice Center, said the ranking demonstrates the availability of sharing economy services along with ease of access to users. The cities that score lowest have chosen excessive regulation over the interest of consumers thereby significantly limiting their consumer choice.

“The sharing economy has transformed our lives in a variety of ways. Booking holiday accommodation via flat-sharing platforms and grabbing our phone to order a rideshare when we are late to a meeting is a habit many of us share. But now, those benefits to consumers are often undermined by excessive regulation and taxation.

“The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown both how much the sharing economy has helped consumers access essential goods and services, while at the same time revealing the very real restrictions and regulations that undermine them,” said Chaplia.

“Spirited protests of taxicab drivers have spread all across the globe, and there is a good reason for that: excessive regulation. In every city analysed (except Kyiv), one must have a taxi driver’s licence to provide taxi services. The fear of competition has taken taxicab drivers to the streets and, in the end, resulted in even tighter regulation of ride-hailing services. Consumers benefit from fair and equitable competition. Less regulation of both traditional taxi services and ride-hailing means more consumer choice,” added Chaplia.

“Overall, three Baltic cities lead the way as the most sharing economy friendly. Estonia is well-known for its booming digital state, and the fact there is even a carpooling app for kids reinforces this fact. All top 10 cities score high when it comes to flat-sharing, meaning that they do not overburden this important part of the sharing economy with city taxes or special permit requirements.”

“The point system we developed for this index provides great insight into what cities you should consider if you would like to enjoy the outstanding variety of sharing economy services,” said Chaplia.

“In order to prevent a negative consumer experience, we examined 52 of the world’s most dynamic cities and ranked them in terms of availability and access to ride-hailing, flat-sharing services, e-scooters, professional car sharing, peer-to-peer car rental, and gym sharing,” added Chaplia.

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