i've given up on trying to get a cab in sf. there's only 1381 highly regulated taxi medallions and a constant shortage. most potential customers have, just lik

i've given up on trying to get a cab in sf. there's only 1381 highly regulated taxi medallions and a constant shortage. most potential customers have, just like me, given up on ever getting a cab when they need one, so there's not only artificially decreased supply, but also artificially decreased demand. there's been extensive comparative research into taxi regulation for decades. the reason SF is so much worse even than other cities that restrict the amount of cabs, is that SF doesn't only regulate street pick-up but also dispatch. google scholar is full of papers on taxi regulation research, and there's http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/ http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/ and other pages. unsurprisingly deregulation is in the interest of the drivers because a competitive market increases customer demand. would you sometimes pay double the fare if you could get a cab _right now_, instead of waiting 25 minutes and praying? hell yeah, if only they let you! let's hope uber can make on-demand transportation in SF usable again.