It looks like UberX, Lyft and Sidecar are here to stay in Seattle.

After more than one year of City Council meetings, protests and debate, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray today announced an agreement between the major industry players, the taxi industry and city officials that will let app-based transportation services such as Lyft, Sidecar and UberX keep operating without any limit on the number of drivers that can be on the street at any given time.

That’s a big change from the original ordinance that was approved by the City Council in March, which set a maximum of 150 active drivers per company — a decision that left the ride-sharing companies unhappy.

“I believe Seattle once again will lead the nation in showing how what appears to be conflicting interests can actually come together,” Murray said after announcing the agreement. “We have deregulated a highly regulated monopoly, allowing taxis and for-hires to become far more competitive than they are in the current situation. We are recognizing that a technology exists that is rapidly changing the marketplace.”

[Related: Seattle’s compromise with Uber, Lyft and Sidecar leaves key players mostly happy]

Here are the key components of the agreement, as announced by Murray this afternoon.

Transportation Network Companies (Uber, Lyft, SideCar, etc.) and their drivers will be licensed and required to meet insurance requirements. All aspects of this industry will be required to carry insurance.

For-hire drivers will have hailing rights for the first time.

The city will provide 200 new taxi licenses over the next four years. Taxi and for-hire licenses will transition to a property right similar to a medallion in other cities.

There will be no cap on the number of drivers for transportation network companies.

Accessibility fund will be created through a 10 cent per ride surcharge for riders who will acquire accessible services.

(See full news release below.)

The agreement still needs to be approved by the Seattle City Council. Perhaps the most notable part of today’s agreement is that there are no limits on how many cars each company can have driving on Seattle’s roads. Murray is asking the Seattle City Council to repeal the controversial ordinance that set those limits, which would also end efforts to hold a public referendum on the ordinance.

If this new agreement had not been reached, Murray had promised to issue cease-and-desist letters to stop services like UberX and Lyft from operating in the city without regulation — similar to what’s being done in Virginia right now.

Today’s decision effectively ends a year-long debate in Seattle over how the TNCs, which use smartphone apps to connect riders and passengers, should be regulated. Many felt that the City Council was limiting innovation with the 150-cap; others said that the startups need to follow the law and stop avoiding regulation.

During the news conference, Murray talked about new technology from taxi companies that he expects to compete more effectively with the apps from the technology startups.

“I think the technology has created something that didn’t exist before. But what I heard from folks in this city — on the far left or somewhere else — is that they like to use an app to get a car. Someday, it will be a Yellow Cab, and today it’s Uber and Lyft.”

Lyft issued this statement on the news.

Today is a first step on a path to securing a future for ridesharing in Seattle. Thousands of residents have spoken up in support of Lyft’s community-powered movement and today their voices have been heard. Peer-to-peer transportation options like Lyft benefit the local economy, improve residents’ and visitors’ quality of life, and promote safe and affordable rides. We appreciate Mayor Murray’s desire to find a solution that prioritizes public safety without stifling innovation, and we will continue to work collaboratively to improve transportation access, safety and affordability for Seattle residents.

As with many compromises, however, not everyone will be happy with the outcome. One theme from Murray’s press conference today was that everybody lost in some ways, and won in others.

GreenCab Taxi General Manager Chris Van Dyk, who’s listed as a plaintiff in the referendum lawsuit against the City, said in advance of the announcement that there would be a major problem with ending the cap on the TNCs.

“The experience in Seattle in years past, in San Francisco and in Ireland now, is that if you have unlimited entry, if you have no limit on the number of taxi and for-hire vehicles, operators simply cannot make a living wage, and the industry goes to hell in a handbasket, and in a relatively short time,” Van Dyk told GeekWire. “The economics of the industry are counter-intuitive, because of the low threshold of entry. Apps do not change this.”

Seattle joins a small handful of cities who have created regulations that allow the TNCs to legally conduct business (none have enforced caps). Most recently, Chicago approved new laws that drew the ire of taxi drivers.

Meanwhile in California, where the TNCs have been legal since September, regulators now want to add more laws around proper insurance coverage. They also are now threatening to shut down the TNCs if they continue offering their services at the major California airports.

Uber and Lyft have not been welcome in all cities. Police in Miami are impounding Lyft drivers and implementing sting operations, while Uber is flat-out banned in Brussels.

But investors do not seem to be worried about potential legal and regulatory roadblocks. Uber, which is operating in 130 cities worldwide, has now raised $1.5 billion, while Lyft has reeled in more than $330 million.

Update: Here’s the full text of the news release announcing the agreement.