Forbes November 5, 2025
During the Great Depression, New York’s streets turned chaotic. Thousands of unemployed residents, desperate for work, began running unlicensed cab services in their own cars, crowding intersections and undercutting one another for fares. Safety was nonexistent, and competition was ruthless. In 1937, the city signed the Haas Act, creating a new system that capped the number of taxis and required each vehicle to display a medallion, which granted the exclusive right to pick up passengers in New York City.
This medallion system reigned for three-quarters of a century.
Then, in 2011, Uber launched in New York City and changed everything.
With little regard for existing city, transportation and labor regulations, Uber clashed with officials New York and most every city...
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