Black cabs have a monopoly on hailing and taximeters at the cost of certain regulations. Wheelchair access is one of those regulations. Other obvious ones inc

Black cabs have a monopoly on hailing and taximeters at the cost of certain regulations. Wheelchair access is one of those regulations. Other obvious ones include TfL-set fares, and the requirement to accept any fare within a certain radius. The latter two regulations are likely to engender a "who cares" response - the TfL fares are (currently) higher than Uber, and the nature of Uber hailing means that the vehicle you board will take you to your requested destination. Uber enables smartphone-based hailing and uncertified taximeters, without enforcing the other rules. Therefore, all the advantages of both minicabs and taxis are available to the operator, but without the disadvantages peculiar to each. You might say that this workaround is a clever disruption of an established, outdated business model, but if Uber drives a significant number of cabbies out of business, then how are independent wheelchair users going to get around efficiently? Buses are already overcrowded at peak times, and not all physically disabled people are as agile as Bumper Harris.