[Sans-Culotte]

I’m surprised that NYC didn’t try to protect the “value” of the medallions by mandating that Uber and Lyft drivers were required to have them also.

This puzzles me as well.

[Alberta's Child]

Under NYC regulations “taxi cabs” are treated differently than “limousines” and “for-hire cars.” A taxi cab makes stops on the street and picks up anyone who hails it. The other two transport passengers who arrange their rides in advance and book a ride with a specific company. They’re all regulated by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) but only the taxi cabs require medallions because they’re a “public” service instead of a “reservation” service.

Since Uber and Lyft require customers to have a phone app and reserve their rides through it, the TLC determined that these are for-hire cars instead of taxi cabs.