What's wrong with a race to the bottom? Big corporations often run with a profit margin of only 1 to 4 percent. That's great for consumers. Drive those prices as low as they can go. Excellent!
People keep using the phrase "protect consumers". How, exactly? In very precise words please. Making drivers hold appropriate insurance, excellent. That protects me as a consumer. Having extremely constrained medallions that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars? No, that does not protect me as a consumer at all. Forcing Uber to do this bullshit independent driver hack also does not protect me or provide value. It would be far superior if drivers were regular employees of Uber but that puts them under heavy regulation which protects established business players far, far, far more than it protects or serves the consumer.
People keep using the phrase "protect consumers". How, exactly? In very precise words please. Making drivers hold appropriate insurance, excellent. That protects me as a consumer. Having extremely constrained medallions that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars? No, that does not protect me as a consumer at all. Forcing Uber to do this bullshit independent driver hack also does not protect me or provide value. It would be far superior if drivers were regular employees of Uber but that puts them under heavy regulation which protects established business players far, far, far more than it protects or serves the consumer.