The taxi laws didn't end up protecting the wages of the drivers. They ended up protecting the rights of the 'plate owners', who, having too much cash, used taxi plates as an investment and rented out the taxis to drivers on a nightly basis often for half cash. Which makes taxi drivers do anything for cash over recorded transactions.

The whole system is crooked, even today.

Giving certain monopolies complete control over the industry and not letting competition in which drives down the prices for consumers is anything but "protecting workers' wages."

You don't work if you are getting 0 rides because they're too expensive for end-user. What wages?

Just the ones designed to protect cabcharges monopoly.

if ride sharing didn't exist wages would be lower. companies like uber increase wages, see Seattle's law reducing the pay of drivers by enforcing minimums.

those laws do not protect wages, uber was right to protest them.

All the ones that restrict freedom without good reason