Why on earth wouldn't normal taxi regulations apply to Uber? Surely it should be counted as essentially a cab company with a fancy app, and this would solve all

Why on earth wouldn't normal taxi regulations apply to Uber? Surely it should be counted as essentially a cab company with a fancy app, and this would solve all of these issues? There seems to be a distinct lack of compassion for drivers who are basically just trying to make enough money to feed their family - my dad was a cabbie for a stint. The drivers themselves are not greedy fat-cats that are using the regulations to hoard money. The problem is, large companies have less overheads and thus can crush local competition. Perhaps this is more efficient, but not necessarily ethical or good in the long run - for instance take Tescos or Sainsburys. They've crushed local competition which cannot compete on price (because of various unethical tactics used in their supply chain which they can do due to being utterly massive), so local competition has to raise prices or go bust, and residents stop being able to afford their produce. In fact, this is a great example of why capitalism isn't always great - it makes the biggest, baddest kid in the playground able to do what they want and tread on the little guys, and then everyone becomes stuck with them, resulting in poorer produce, less consumer choice, and the destruction of family businesses and trades. It favours efficiency and ruthlessness, which aren't necessarily qualities that are good for anyone except shareholders. The counter-argument would be that if people cared enough about local businesses, they'd support them, but when people are getting squeezed as they are (and remember, large companies push wages down as much as possible because they simply do not care about their workers), this becomes difficult or even impossible - and remember, capitalism incentivises the most efficient, cheapest option. So go ahead, with the free market, allow ruthlessness and size to dominate, enjoy a soulless, miserable world dominated by giants.