Uber isn't the problem, it's the taxi mafia. As they stated, Uber wants to come to an agreement where they can operate legally, pay taxes and licensing fees. (After all, Uber just passes on these taxes fees to the rider, as they do in other countries with things like airport pickup fees, etc.) The taxi mafias are too politically connected and will never allow Uber to become legal even if they want to. (often taxi syndicates will have allegiance to one political party and are very politically active) The same drama has played out all over the world, and in the end Uber almost always wins.

Here in Florida, we had the same drama for years where certain municipalities didn't allow Uber, or didn't allow pickups from the airport, etc. and they had to operate clandestinely. State law has put an end to that, requiring a certain level of background check, insurance requirements, etc. and made these regulations uniform throughout the state. Local governments are now prohibited from banning or further regulating Uber, but Airports may charge an airport service fee if the airport collects the same charge from all authorized transportation. What pushed the state to act to legalize and make uniform the regulations for Uber? We are a state that relies on tourism and the bottom line is that Uber is what visitors want.