As a DC resident who loves Uber and HATES HATES HATES the local taxicabs, you are wrong on this. This is not about regulation. This is about an established in

As a DC resident who loves Uber and HATES HATES HATES the local taxicabs, you are wrong on this. This is not about regulation. This is about an established industry in a city with a one party government that has deep pockets for funding (or defunding) politicians whose election is decided in a primary, not a general election. The taxicab industry in DC is, like in many cities, corrupt down to a point where it hurts the drivers. The corruption starts at the dispatching offices, where the person taking the phone calls for pickups almost never sends a cab based on closest proximity to the pickup. Instead, they base it on who pays them the most kick backs, or perhaps a family member. In this scenario, the consumer and the driver lose due to a corrupt middleman. Talk to any cab driver who picks you up, and ask them about corrupt dispatchers. If they are honest they might tell you about their own dispatchers. Uber is good for the drivers and the consumers. It's bad for the middle men and the politicians. Sedans are already regulated, and Uber handles the "taxi" side of the equation by using GPS to determine distance/time for a fair rate.