Uber had better understand that in politics, just because you're right, doesn't mean you win. As a Bad Person I take it as a given that there is some kind of c

Uber had better understand that in politics, just because you're right, doesn't mean you win. As a Bad Person I take it as a given that there is some kind of corruption, more likely soft than hard, in metropolitan taxi regulation. That doesn't mean there aren't legitimate interests represented by those regulators, and those legitimate interests will be the rhetorical focus of the incumbent protection campaign. Uber would do well to appreciate those legitimate interests and get well and truly on the right side of those questions. Uber would also do well to understand the unstated agendas, legimate and otherwise, and strategize for meeting those. Legitimate questions? IANA taxi expert but I would guess: - Value of incumbent licenses. In NY cab drivers and companies spend hundred of thousands for medallions. There are whole financing structures built around those values. Protection of those values is probably a key objective of the regulators. That really is a legitimate problem. For one thing those values support an industry that provides jobs to working class people. For another the city probably views those values as a signal of the stability of its policy environment. - Stability. Policy makers may well believe that the taxi system works on a number of dimensions, that systems like Uber may not work as well on all those dimensions, and that they may disrupt the system with unknown consequences. - "Universal service". One of those dimensions may be service availability to low income neighborhoods. Cabs are supposed to take fares anywhere. Regulators may fear that poor people may not have iPhones to play in Uber, and that drivers would discriminate against some neighborhoods if the poor people did. It would not surprise me that the tacit model behind the cabs is "you take the high fare business traffic to the airports, but also the lower revenue low income traffic." The high revenue types effectively subsidize the low revenue types. This model happens EVERYWHERE in the regulated universe. I wouldn't be surprised if the regulators were also simply trying to maintain their nests by maintaining control, and maybe some actual hard corruption. But these folks are very, very capable at city politics. They've got their 10,000 hours in and they will kick your ass if you don't. I don't care how right Uber is, if they find themselves going up against race and class politics they will get erased. My advice to Uber? Slow down. Figure out what the other side is about, and I mean all about, good and bad. Figure out how you're going to meet the real problems and the legitimate and / or understandable objections of the incumbents. Figure out the arena where the final decisions will be made (probably the city councils), get to know those players, and figure out how you can win there. Uber can't probably do this on current staffing. They need first class political advice, and at a local level. Finding the right people won't be easy. But they need people with those 10,000 hours in the right places, and pronto.