> So they are the same old taxi drivers and motel owners.
We are paying less precisely because they are new drivers and BNB owners on the market.
I think you're oversimplifying. Not all regulations have to inexorably converge on the taxi/hotel model. Cities could ban non-resident Airbnb rentals and there would still be enough supply to have a major impact on the market. They could impose safety & insurance regulations on Uber/Lyft but stop short of the medallion system, which is the main bottleneck on supply & pricing.
We are paying less precisely because they are new drivers and BNB owners on the market.
I think you're oversimplifying. Not all regulations have to inexorably converge on the taxi/hotel model. Cities could ban non-resident Airbnb rentals and there would still be enough supply to have a major impact on the market. They could impose safety & insurance regulations on Uber/Lyft but stop short of the medallion system, which is the main bottleneck on supply & pricing.
In fact that's exactly what they've done:
[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-makes-airbnb-le... [2] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/18/us-california-lawm...