In Guatemala, ex-taxi drivers tell me the daily spend on the car went to 1/3rd the amount when they bought a car versus renting a taxi. So they were paying 3x as much per day, and in a few years would have nothing to show for it. So even with Uber's 25% cut and lower prices, they say they're doing way better.

In the US, I'm not sure you can compare a medallion costing nearly a million dollars with a car loan for a few dozen thousand. The medallions can swing in price (as we see), a car probably will follow a well-known decrease.