I'm not saying they suck for society (my take is more along the lines of: they have certainly improved the taxi experience, which has made noticeable contributi

I'm not saying they suck for society (my take is more along the lines of: they have certainly improved the taxi experience, which has made noticeable contributions to issues such as, per your mention, drunk driving; on the other hand, they have exposed and exploited externalities that impose their own serious safety, quality of life, and social costs on the areas where they are most active), I'm saying their business model fundamentally exists as a response to regulatory issues, so their business will inherently have more exposure to regulation.