You don't need taxi-specific regulations to stop people being robbed and cheated. For legal matters you have legal recourse, and for customer service problems y

You don't need taxi-specific regulations to stop people being robbed and cheated. For legal matters you have legal recourse, and for customer service problems you can call the taxi company. Even if some regulation is necessary to protect the consumer, though, it's clear that much of it also exists to protect the industry. You don't need wide-reaching oversight powers or price controls to enforce minimum service requirements. Looking to the future, things like smartphones and Google Glass will lessen the need for consumer protection by making user-reviews always at-hand. If you look at a taxi and see "Two stars, poor service" automatically overlaid, or if you get a list of rated companies when you try to call a cab, the market will be able to weed out bad eggs. This is a far more democratic solution than legislation.