my understanding is that they are generally granted in limited numbers to politically powerful entities Taxi licenses would comply …if they were freely avail

my understanding is that they are generally granted in limited numbers to politically powerful entities Taxi licenses would comply …if they were freely available to anyone who met the safety and service criteria In the UK, that's what happens: fulfil the safety and service criteria (e.g. appropriate driving licence, language skills, knowledge of the locale, suitable vehicle, etc), and you can obtain a licence. To the best of my knowledge, the restrictions on the number of taxis (i.e. the Medallion system) appears to be a predominantly USA-centric issue. I don't know of a similar quota system outside the USA (and please do correct me if I'm ill-informed). There are cases where companies have appealed against the criteria - such as Uber fighting TFL's language requirements: "a third of the drivers would fail the English tests because it would be too difficult for them" [1] - but it's still the case that if they fulfil the criteria, they can obtain a licence. [1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/03/uber_loses_english_language_tests_drivers_court_transport_london/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/03/uber_loses_english_...