The real problem I see here is the need for a $700,000 medallion in order to operate a taxi cab. That just screams corruption and reeks of mob protectionism. Such a system of artificially limiting the number of cabs is ludicrous, I think it would be completely reasonable to require some sort of training course with a special license but it should be a few hundred bucks a year, not $700k.
This is the sort of thing that makes me root for Uber and others, the existing system deserves to be disrupted until it collapses.
the point of limiting the number of taxis is to make sure that they can make living, in exchange for the "monopoly" they are required to keep cars on the street at all times
and do rides that might not be profitable
Compare and contrast with London.
All taxi type drivers and services are licenced and regulated - so that's both Licenced Taxi Drivers (black cabs) and Private Hire Drivers (classic mini-cabs, Uber at al). There is currently no cap on the number of licences and there has never been. A cap is currently being considered. In financial year 2017/18 there were 23,826 Licenced Taxi Drivers and 113,645 licenced Private Hire Drivers.
The licencing authority is required by law to spend all fees on running the service (i.e. it's not a stealth tax). The only significant bar to entry, aside from a clean criminal records check, driving test, medical and an adequate licensable vehicle, is for Licenced Taxi Drivers who have to pass the 'Knowledge' [of London] test before they can get a licence. Licencing fees are reasonable, if you meet all the requirements your first Black cab license will cost a total of around £1000 including tests, medical examination, criminal record checks etc. etc. For a Private Hire driver it's closer to £700.
Licenced Cab Drivers can ply for hire on the streets (i.e. you can hail a Licenced Taxi) whereas Private Hire Vehicles must be pre-booked, even if it's as immediate as using an app. Black cab hire fees (what you the customer pays) are fixed by regulation and have traditionally been quite expensive. Private Hire fees are a matter for the individual firm to set and are not regulated.
Black cab drivers must by law take any fare, no matter how long, short or inconvenient, as long as the journey is 12 miles or less (or 20 miles if the destination is Heathrow Airport) and terminates within the "Metropolitan Police District or the City of London". Private Hire firms can pick and choose what journeys to accept, but in practice don't generally refuse any. Black cab drivers set their own hours and there is no obligation to work particular times or a minimum number of hours, ditto licensed Private Hire drivers.
The Licenced Cab drivers have never liked Private Hire operators, and have always done their best to wrangle for a monopoly, which they once had. Getting a black cab licence was hard, because the 'Knowledge' is hard and takes years to study for. As well as the actual streets, black cab drivers are expected to know where hotels, restaurants, museums and the like are as well. A cab licence was a traditional way for a working class lad (and the very occasional lass) to get a relatively high paying job. Even competing with modern GPS navigation a black cab will still probably get you there faster because black cab drivers have an intimate working knowledge of London's streets, all of them. Black cabs deserve a premium for this, but the days of being able to charge much, much more than the Private Hire operators and still get plenty of customers have passed now that anybody can get you accurately to your destination.