Why not let taxis, Uber, Lyft fight it out on a level playing field with no regulations?

Taxi drivers created traffic gridlock in downtown D.C. last week to protest app-based ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.

The organizer of the “Fairness NOW!” caravan protest, the Teamster-affiliated D.C. Taxi Operators Association, is complaining that these private companies have a competitive edge because they do not have to obey by the same regulations as cabbies.

These taxi drivers are demanding that the D.C. government order the private sedan services to cease operations until a “fair” resolution is reached.

They believe that these companies are stealing work from D.C. taxi drivers because of the city’s inaction to create a level playing field.

The irony is that some of the burdensome taxi regulations were pushed by big taxi companies as a way to stomp out their competition.