> So many of these unicorns seem so stupidly simple in hindsight.
The "stupidly" part comes in when you realize that maybe the cabbie had a better grasp of the economics of his business when he accepted your bid of 30 EUR. The gig economy people driving you for a fraction of the 5 EUR you paid might come to the same conclusion sooner or later.
Add the taxes, add the commercial insurances (how many Uber has one?), add the much higher maintenance for a car that runs all day every day,...
Just because those drivers don't factor in things in legal or financial hindsight doesn't mean they won't need it, or that it won't go seriously wrong when that need gets called on.
I've traveled widely enough to know that at least at tourist centers, airports and train stations, the traditional cab driver business model is built on scamming unsuspecting tourists.
The "stupidly" part comes in when you realize that maybe the cabbie had a better grasp of the economics of his business when he accepted your bid of 30 EUR. The gig economy people driving you for a fraction of the 5 EUR you paid might come to the same conclusion sooner or later.