The SF Taxi Industry, Gone In 18 Months

Chris Hayashi, head of San Francisco’s taxi industry, is stepping down amidst the disruption of the industry brought on by Uber and Lyft (via Co.Exist):

But DeSoto Cab Co. president Hansu Kim, who agreed that Hayashi shepherded the industry through some of its most trying times, said that with Uber, Lyft and the like, he would be surprised if the cab industry survives another 18 months in The City.
What’s happening to the taxi industry is not unlike the disruption of the horse carriage industry when the automobile was first introduced over 100 years ago.
I’m not happy that ‘traditional’ cabbies will be losing their jobs because of this, but to try and ban companies like Uber and Lyft like the state of Virginia is doing is counterproductive and delaying the inevitable. This is dustruption in the true sense of the word and is a byproduct of innovation.
I stand firm with my mantra and favorite quote by Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent species that survives, but the one most adaptable to change.