Race, racism and rationing — the case of taxis

Here is a free market economics grad student project:


Some African Americans claim they cannot get a cab.

The supply of cabs in most cities is regulated and restricted below free market levels.

Does the number of complaints (per capita) that cabs won’t come to black neighborhoods or stop for black people correlate with the amount of regulation of cabs, by municipality?

Are taxi drivers simply skimming off the cream, by taking the customers in the safest neighborhoods, who they believe are the most likely to tip, because there is not an unregulated supply of taxi drivers that can match the total demand for taxis at a market clearing price?  Supply is restricted to below demand, so only the safest routes and best tippers get the supply.

In a free market would a racially discriminatory cab company lose business to an UrbanTaxi app that hired or affiliated drivers who (whatever precautions they take about safety etc. of neighborhoods) did not ignore customers of color?