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Sometimes you lose the public relations battle. But this is putting the public relations puck in your own net three times in the third period.

A few months ago, the taxi drivers had much of the public on their side in their fight against ride-sharing services. Many people were initially apprehensive about Uber and how it had charged into the market in defiance of the rules. Even as some customers embraced the cheaper, more modern alternative, legitimate concerns were being raised, particularly about insurance for Uber drivers. And there was some sympathy for the owners and leaseholders of expensive taxi licenses, who had the potential to see their investments evaporate if Uber was allowed to operate.

(As an aside, I’ve never understood why the city allowed a resale market to drive the value of taxi plates into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why not simply issue non-transferrable plates, to be returned to the city and reissued when they are no longer being used by the licensee?)

My guess is that in the long run, ride-sharing services were inevitable. The market always defaults to the cheapest and best solutions. But there was a unique window for the taxi industry during which they could have done much to undermine or at least forestall their innovative new competitors. Unlike other businesses, taxi service is regulated by the city, so it’s not as simple as winning the fight for customers. Initially, this was more about government relations than public relations.