Edit: And the exploitation I was referring to was of the taxi drivers under the current system, not myself.
Government regulation exists to protect people. Whether that's labor regulations, fire code, zoning ordinances, etc, its to ensure the health and well being of citizens.
Now, you'll argue that always isn't the case, and I'll agree with you. Incentives with taxi regulation went sideways, hence the medallion system. But that doesn't mean regulation is wrong, that means that apathetic, disinterested stakeholders are the problem. Just as we've made the problem by not caring enough to fix it, we can care enough to work towards fixing it. The number of vehicles for transport in a metro can be regulated using an unbiased algorithm. The wages of drivers can be determined by labor regulations. These are not hard technical problems to solve. They're political problems to be solved.
Should we throw out the medallion system? Yes. Should Uber get to stampede all over transport regulations? No. There should be a middle ground.
People say someone should be able to accept a job no matter what the pay is, as long as they're willing. No one is willing when they're an economic captive. It costs a minimum amount of money (dependent on locale) to have shelter, food, and clothing. This is what government regulation is for (see: minimum wage, employee/contractor classification, etc), to ensure that people can support themselves on the work they can obtain. If they can't support themselves on what a job pays, the job pays too little and the business relying on that undermarket labor rate is unsustainable (see: Walmart educating its workers on relying on social benefits, thereby using the government as a subsidy).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L...
For me it does not.
I use Uber here in Austin because it is significantly cheaper that Lyft. I hear people say that their drivers tell them that Lyft treats them better. Apparently that's not so much better that they stop driving for Uber. I've actually never had a driver make a comment to me in either direction about Uber. And I've had many drivers who drive for both companies. They have told me, on the few times that I've asked, that the reason they do it is to increase their likelihood of getting a fare.
When I think about it more it really seems like drivers for these services are all getting a raw deal just based on the wear and tear on their vehicles and so small differences in business practices don't really count for much to me.