[fitchjo]

I do feel a bit for those individuals that bought a taxi medallion recently and are unlikely to be able to pay it off due to the change in dynamics; on the other hand, the only reason the price of the medallions were so high was that the market dynamics were being manipulated (by controlling the supply). The risk that those market dynamics could change should have been included in the price of the medallion - if someone did not properly consider whether that risk was appropriately priced when purchasing a medallion, that is their fault. The only real costs they talk about that are different for a taxi versus uber aren't significant (1,176 taxi fee and 1,000 every two years for the medallion renewal) and do provide them a competitive advantage (being able to pick up rides hailed on the street.