And.....

The main competition for Taxis in the old days was the trolly car service. They were regulated by cities because they used city streets. Cities also set their fares.

But a trolly could not take you to your front door so when they started to feel the heat from taxi companies they demanded the cities step in and level the playing field.

And when a city was faced with losing the trolly or passing a few taxi regulations the regulations won out.

And once a government body was set up to regulate anything.......