Comment by ry0ohki

I may be wrong, but I doubt the initial laws were setup to protect the cab industry. It solved a problem of safety, reliability, and set prices with cabs. See third world countries where a cab ride can easily mean a kidnapping or robbery at worst, or a fleecing at best. I'm sure once the basic infrastructure was in place cab companies used their lobbies to further entrench, but the basic laws are there for consumer protection.