> The entire innovation of ridesharing was taxi dispatch, with a smartphone. It was only a slight incremental improvement over the existing state-of-the art.
No, we already had taxi dispatch.
The innovation was in giving up on the strict numeric quota for how many taxis were allowed to exist.
NYC had quotas - "taxi medallions". Arizona had minimal regulations: vehicle safety inspections, meter accuracy, driver screening. The big taxi companies were mostly trusted to do their own regulatory compliance for their fleets and drivers. Anyone could start their own taxi company - I understood the state agency was quite helpful. I had no interest in making a career of transportation, so I just drove for the company enough to pay my bills, while I worked on my other endeavors.
No, we already had taxi dispatch.
The innovation was in giving up on the strict numeric quota for how many taxis were allowed to exist.