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The Sharing Economy

Sharing your neighbour's car, tools and clothes: the sharing economy. But existing regulations and laws are set up for hotels and car hire companies, and that is causing problems.

91热爆 swaps, driving your neighbour's car, private car parking in your drive, even renting your neighbour's clothes. They are all part of a new style of collaborative enterprise in which nearly everyone can join and (maybe) make money: the 'shared economy'.

It's breaking cover, growing fast and could be important. Perhaps the best known example is Airbnb but many more companies have sprung up allowing people to share their things and even their time. And now companies are trying to make money out of what makes all this sharing possible: trust.

But existing regulations and laws are set up for traditional businesses such as hotels and car hire companies, and that is causing problems. Peter Day investigates the opportunities and snags of the sharing economy and asks if it could become a big democratic movement.

Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 11 May 2014 21:30

Contributors to this programme

Debbie Wosskow

Founder and Chief Executive of Love 91热爆 Swap and Collaborative Consumption Europe.

Richard Laughton

Chief Executive of easyCar Club.

Jit Patel

user of Streetbank.com

Fiona Disegni

Founder of Rentez-vous.

Alex Stephany

Chief Executive of ParkatmyHouse.com

Even Heggernes

Airbnb Country Manager UK and Ireland.

Rachel Botsman

Sharing Economy Guru and Author of 鈥榃hat鈥檚 Mine is Yours'

Miles Spencer

Co-Founder and Chairman of TrustCloud.

Leah Busque

Founder and Chief Executive of TaskRabbit

Lily

TaskRabbit customer

Carlos

handyman TaskRabbit

Ivo Gormley

Founder of Good Gym

Broadcasts

  • Thu 8 May 2014 20:30
  • Sun 11 May 2014 21:30

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