[jabyess]

The real answer is that cars are incredibly expensive in many ways - vehicle maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, pollution, etc.

Taxis are often 2-3x more expensive than ridesharing because that's what the cost is to pay someone to drive you around, and maintain a private vehicle.

The solution should involve reducing the need of private vehicles. But that's a much bigger conversation.

[novok]

They're expensive because supply is explicitly limited by a license limit and the taxi license holders extract monopoly rents. On top of that they are often in cahoots with local politicians and form a symbolic relationships where politicians limit their competition in exchange for political support, with organized crime connections that are too petty for most federal investigators to take notice.

Actual taxi drivers are paid shit too. Often have to pay something like $3000/month to rent the license & car from the actual license owner as independent contractors, at the end of the month you end up with Uber-esque pay anyway.

Talk to a taxi driver and ask them how it actually works, it might surprise you.