That's exactly the point though, it's the entire system that needs replacing. It's awfully hard to turn a ship around when it's as large as the taxi industry (with lobbies to boot).

Take one element of it - say the taxi companies said, "OK, you're now getting rated, and if you drop below 5 stars you lose your medallion." Drivers would lose their minds.

Imagine them saying, "Also, now your trips are going to cost 50% less" again, would not fly.

Or even, "You can use your own car, because that's way more efficient" (would never happen, because taxi drivers rent their cars for $40,000/month).

The taxi industry has done a hell of a lot to entrench itself and make itself irreplaceable, no matter how awful it is. In doing so, it has created a system completely resistant to change and innovation. The industry was ripe for someone to come along and replace it with a parallel system that was better and more efficient.