[cthalupa]

>With a conventional taxi company, if something bad happens, you deal with the taxi company, get compensation, etc etc

In many places, if something bad happens with your taxi ride, you're still dealing with just the taxi driver. They are independent contractors in many places.

I'm not sure what the makeup is of employees vs. independent contractors, but they are definitely out there in significant numbers. In NYC, for example, most are independent contractors, and this has resulted in a whole mess of problems ( http://nypost.com/2015/01/22/1-5m-in-taxi-drivers-money-held... )