I've personally witnessed an Oregon Taxi driver acting so oddly (he appeared to be yelling and angry for an extended period of time) that I called Oregon Taxi out of concern that his emotions could be a hazard on the road. 

I think we can agree that the rules could be updated for modern times (perhaps such as more flexibility on cab markings and application based pricing) but stand firm on the licensing requirement. IMO "trust me we're doing it" is not sufficient oversight on commercial insurance and background checks.