[yummyfajitas]

Just think how bad it might be if cities were to create regulations to keep out anyone besides Uber.

Then Uber might create a medallion system - artificially limiting the number of cars on the road - to maximize their profits [1]. Uber would also have no real incentive to monitor their driver's behavior - after all, it's not like they'll lose any business to Ola, Lyft or Meru. They might even engage in racist protectionism, like banning cab drivers from the wrong ethnic group [2]!

I sure hope no one ever gets this kind of monopoly on taxi cabs!

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_New_York_City#Meda...

[2] http://www.firstpost.com/india/dont-know-marathi-cant-drive-... (For those unfamiliar, Shiv Sena is basically the Donald Trump party of Maharashtra.)

[DrScump]

Uber has no need to worry about maximizing profits via limiting drivers, or need for a medallion system, in the long term given that their long-term goal is no drivers at all:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/ubers-self-driving-car-future...

(one example; there are more recent articles)

[Scoundreller]

Uber's headstart already makes it difficult for any upstart to compete with UberPool. In Toronto, Uber appears to be taking aggressive action against drivers that refuse Pool:

http://uberpeople.net/threads/reject-2-pool-in-a-row-get-kic...

[HappyTypist]

There's no reason Uber would create a medallion system. They'd just raise the commissions that drivers pay.