Why is cincinnati so ultra conservative that even taxis are not allowed to simply drive around?

Would you take your car and just drive around with gasoline being 4$ a gallon? They do this because it saves on repair, keeps mileage down (drivers are usually paid by the mile) and that reduces oil change frequency. There are enough people that use the service to keep it going, but not enough that they need to drive constantly. They do the same thing in my city. It also let's the driver arrange multiple pick-ups. If you are going to 2614 Sycamore, and they have a pick up at 2815 Sycamore, they just send the same cab. It's just standard economics.