> The law also gives the guy a monopoly on selling taxi services, so it's hard to have much sympathy.
Sort of - the law gives the guy a monopoly on picking up street passengers. But again, these laws are broken often - livery drivers will still pick you up sometimes, depending on where you are. Definitely not in front of Grand Central, though.
I'm all in favor of letting cabbies pick and choose their fares. But if we do that, we also need to allow competition in the taxi market.