I used to take the R5 into the city for work, never had much use for taxis, but a bunch of my colleagues had stories about having to call the cops over paying their taxi fare. And early on, "machine doesn't work" was the norm, not the exception. Yes, taxis are regulated. No, having to invoke that regulation on the regular was not a better experience.

You know what I haven't had to do since the rideshare revolution? Argue over how much I'm paying or how I'm paying it. I take a cab home from the airport every time I'm flying home. They're now cleaner, friendlier, and all around better. The taxi system overplayed their hand for a long time, and now everyone in their industry is worse off for it, but customers are better off.