Expect a taxi market similar to the current US ISP market soon.

Most countries/cities have one taxi driver union/authority which is responsible for licensing drivers and cabs as well as usually setting fares.

If anything Uber and various direct bid/reverse bid car hire services actually break down the monopoly.

Now I don't like Uber for many reasons, the primary one being that it sets a horrible example of how to run a multi billion dollar business involving 100,000's of people around the world without having actual employees. I also don't like the fact that Uber in many places actually externalizes the risk to its drivers because while France might fine Uber if you as a driver are caught operating a car service without the proper license you'll be in hot water and I somehow doubt that Uber's onboarding process has a huge warning to drivers and for the most part Uber doesn't seem to do any due diligence or much of it in places where it's illegal for individuals to commercially drive others without a proper license and a criminal background check (I know in the UK Uber doesn't ask you for a commercial license or a DBS).

I want consistently good service, no matter who provides it. I'd love to see more than one company providing that level of service, but I place far less value on that than I do on consistently good service.

I plan to try Lyft as soon as they either get their Android app upgraded for Marshmallow-style selective permissions (which they still haven't done a year after Marshmallow) or they provide a web app.

Because what you’ll get as soon as 2 or 3 companies control the market will be like the ISPs in the US.

Uber and Lyft are going to be the next Comcast, the next TWC; the next ATT, the next Verizon.

It’d cost me about 50€ to get a commercial drivers license, and I could start my own taxi company that very same day. Commercial drivers license, Commercial insurance, no further regulation.

But Uber is trying to expand into this region.

My service is going to get worse.