It really makes very little sense to forbid a person from driving a passenger for money. The AirBnB situation is actually grayer since zoning does make sense (who wants a revolving door of random tourists in their apartment building or even residential neighborhood?).
Uber and AirBnB are succeeding because they are delighting customers in a rather visceral way.
No one is suggesting people shouldn't be allowed to drive for money, nor that Uber shouldn't be allowed to run their service, but simply that if Uber drivers are doing the work of employees they should get the benefits of being employees.
The only real difference that would make is that Uber would be a little more expensive to use. It'd still be cheaper that a taxi. I think that's quite reasonable if it means Uber drivers have a happier, more stable life.
The reason the taxi industry was originally regulated was the competition between drivers and taxi firms was literally cut-throat. While it might be good for consumers in the short run it won't be so good when we end up in a race to the bottom on the back of extreme competition.
(Btw, did not downvote)
SV/StartupLand needs to get over this idea that they can magically just make the world do what it wants and pretend things like legislation and human rights don't exist when they get in the way of their business model.
You've got to work hard in the system like everybody else.