> The drivers can work for Uber, and arguably earn as much as they did before.

That's not my understanding. I've read that they earn less, and drivers I talk to say it's hard to make money. Also remember that Uber drivers are contractors and get no benefits or other employee protections. Uber does place plenty of stories and op-eds saying otherwise, but I need to see some actual data.

Many cabbies are also independent contractors and thus get none of the benefits Uber and Lyft are assailed for not providing. It's not always the case, but it's not exactly unheard of.

Yes, data would be best. Maybe it's hard to make money as an Uber driver. But driving cab is not such a great job either.

> driving cab is not such a great job either

Many things are 'not ... great', but some of them are much better than others. Homelessness isn't great, neither is a low-wage job and public housing, neither is a decent paying job with an awful boss, neither is being a graduate TA at MIT for an awful professor - but some of those are clearly better than others.

The drivers I've spoken to mostly thought that Uber's entrance into the market had hurt their incomes significantly. Of course, that's hardly a representative sample.