The major part of that was being able to pick up street hails not he color of the car.
Cabbies themselves have been the biggest reason for all the regulation from the city. Picking up tourists and aimlessly driving around for half an hour to run up the meter, refusing to take people where they want to go and not picking up black people are just some of the shenanigans they pull on a regular basis.
> Picking up tourists and aimlessly driving around for half an hour to run up the meter, refusing to take people where they want to go and not picking up black people are just some of the shenanigans they pull on a regular basis
Well, if you need a X-hundred-thousand-dollar taxi "medallion" to be allowed to transport people for a fee, that cuts down on your competition quite nicely, and then you're not really motivated to provide a good service.
Uber has shown that there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind transporting people for a fee, but they haven't been able (or motivated to) get permission to do so, which means the licensing system has been highly effective in keeping competition low and prices high, just the way the state-maintained monopoly/cartel wants it.
Can an Uber driver pull nasty shit on people and keep getting gigs? No, but taxi drivers can, and there's a reason for that. Well there you go.
Cabbies themselves have been the biggest reason for all the regulation from the city. Picking up tourists and aimlessly driving around for half an hour to run up the meter, refusing to take people where they want to go and not picking up black people are just some of the shenanigans they pull on a regular basis.