Oh my, what are the mayors of these dem cities going to do?
On one hand their party is beholden to Saudi money, on the other hand they are beholden to $40,000 taxi badges...
What is a politician to do?
As late as 2012 NYC medallions cost $700,000 per individual and $1 million for corporations. I'm sure medallions in other cities are priced very high too.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/new-york-city-june-average-taxi-medallion-sales-price-table-
Now enter Uber and lyft. No medallions required. Now you know why big cities have been restricting Uber and Lyft.