It is rational from a self-serving standpoint from the taxist point of reference. The rational is to hurt Uber and consumers and by doing so giving Taxis an advantage (ie, they can now reach you faster than a Uber).

It is a huge loss if you look at it from a societal welfare point of view.

It provides an advantage to cab companies?

I don't know the details but it could because in many countries there are different licenses for taxis that can pick up off the street, as opposed to licensed car services that can only be pre-booked.

Uber tends to operate as the latter, using the laws for a pre-booked taxi service.

This law is obviously protection for the classic taxis by giving a legal standard to what it means to be pre-booked. They can claim to be just clarifying an existing law.

The law about VTCs (that is, vehicles rented with a driver [which are not taxis]) is, similarly to limo services in some other countries, that they cannot pick people on the street, and they need, previously to picking up the client, some short of "service sheet": A sheet detailing their trips and the client information. (I'm simplifying a lot)

In the past that meant they needed to go back to the base, pick their "service sheet" for the next jobs, and then go make their thing. If you needed a ride for "right now", the VTC wasn't your choice. VTC, are/were widely used, for example, on TV production. The VTC driver received their "work sheet" in the morning and they would go and "pick the host at 7, the guest at 9, the other guest at 10, take the host to the airport at 12...".

Now, with the apps, the app is your "work sheet", so even if you can't pick people on the street in theory, in practice it's like you can, because I can check in the app how many VTCs are near, and "order" one which will get here almost instantly, because they don't need to go back to the base to get their "work sheet".

So, that's the argument on requiring some minimum delay when ordering a VTC. For me, the 24h delay is ridiculous, as even with the classic "analog paper work sheet", you could call the base for a driver, and if they had somebody there, send you one in half an hour, so it makes no sense.

Anyway, my main concern with VTCs is workers rights, as, AFAIK, none of them have contracts, and are freelancers stranded with an expensive car renting, with promises of having steady work from their employers.