Taxis pre-regulation were highly competitive.<p>Each driver did his best to cut costs and raise revenue like: break traffic laws, not pay for insurance, not service their cars, not clean their cars, etc.<p>And since hailing a cab doesn&#x27;t really give a lot of consumer choice besides what cabbie happens to be driving by at the moment, &quot;competition&quot; is loosely applied at best.<p>Pre-regulation, this would mean chances were fair that you&#x27;d enter a cab driven by a verbally abusive asshole who can&#x27;t drive well, blows smoke into your face at a 15 second interval, doesn&#x27;t know the city, and has basically no regard for human life or decency.<p>At least according to Time magazine in 1976: Modern Living: Call Me a Taxi, You Yellow Cab!