The taxicab industry has been so overregulated for so long that it cannot survive any exposure to real-world, market forces.
Many states grant monopoly jurisdictions to cab companies and control prices, fares, numbers of drivers, and numbers of cabs. Poor people who want to start a cab company are simply not allowed.
In fact, many states require new cab companies to prove to a government “taxi board” or “public service commission” that there is a need for their services.
Then came along Uber, Lyft and other App-generated services, by which a passenger can simply log onto an app and see if someone wants to share a ride with a passenger. The notion has caught fire and now threatens the viability of the dinosaur cab industry.
Cab companies are outraged, claiming falsely that Uber and Lyft are unsafe and dangerous.
In fact an average Uber driver drives a newer, cleaner, safer car than an average taxi cab.
In Massachusetts, the legislature has responded by making rideshare passengers contribute a nickel per ride to prop up the aging, obsolete, dying, government-controlled taxi industry. See here. 
