The right thing is to buy a proper license
Idiots who spent thousands to illegally obtain a license are getting screwed
Already value of a plate is worth alot less than a few years ago
The city NEVER made "huge money" from those plates
People who resold them for alot more than cost made a profit
Those licenses that were purchased by taxi drivers were done legally. They were purchased off of rich people who had connections with the city and were sold those licenses by the city. They were also given the rights by the city to sell those licenses if they choose to do so, and there was absolutely nothing illegal about it.
The city did initially make money from selling those taxi licenses to the initial buyers. So I really don't know where the above statement you made you got your facts from but it's the exact opposite.
What the issue is that a lot of people do not want to adress (BECAUSE THEY ARE GETTING CHEAPER FARES THROUGH UBER'S X PLATFORM) is that the politicians looked the other way and were not regulating the taxi industry closely when it was growing and the taxi industry was running wild in the city with little if any oversight from the city.
Now shit has hit the fan and every one has gotten sick and tired of the taxi industry, the politicians are doing the exact same thing with Uber which in the long run is not good for the city, the industry, nor the customers.
This is coming from a person who uses taxis, limousines companies, and Uber black. I personally prefer Uber black for accessability, but prefer limousine companies for pricing. And in all honesty think the taxi industry could be doing a lot better. But to think any industry can be over taken by a rogue multi billion dollar company that is using technology and does not follow the laws of the city that the rest of the industry are following is not good for the industry, it's not a good precedent to set, and simply not fair to the taxi industry.
If Uber wants to keep it's platform of Uber X in the city there should be no reason why every single driver does not have commercial insurance, and does not get licensed through the municipality they are working in to make sure cars are checked and safe to be on the road.
Also Uber's new platform Uber Hop providers should all be licensed through the Ontario Highway Transportation Board with a Public Vehicle Operating license, as all other vehicles who do this through other multiple companies have these licenses and once again this is not fair nor right to that industry and it ends up hurting the other providers of the service in those industries.
I DO THINK THAT UBER HAS BEEN PAYING OFF POLITICIANS IN THE GTA AS THERE ARE A FEW POLITICIANS IN THIS CITY THAT ARE STANDING UP FOR UBER ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE LAWS THAT OTHER COMPANIES ABIDE BY.