It's not just that, ride sharing apps allow anyone to turn their own personal vehicle into a taxi, and work their own hours. This massively increased supply, re

It's not just that, ride sharing apps allow anyone to turn their own personal vehicle into a taxi, and work their own hours. This massively increased supply, rendering the fixed medallion taxi monopoly irrelevant. Uber Pool and Lyft Line further increased supply and drove down prices. Add to that the incentives induced by the rating system and fares determined before you hail the ride, and you also get a far superior riding experience. So no, the innovation here wasn't just that the hailing is done via an app. This alone would not have spurred the dramatic improvements we've seen.