No longer do we have to dial up to order a pizza, wait for a home inspection to visualise a property’s interior or have a gym instructor direct our fitness regime.

They are all things which can be done at the push of a finger with modern devices.

These innovations have been complemented by radical changes in how services operate with various sectors hit by the digital disruption.

It has seen the rise of Airbnb for travellers, Gumtree when it comes online advertising and Uber in the world of ride sharing.

The impact of the latter is now being felt very sharply by those who have traditionally provided the service – taxi drivers.

After the flourishing of a black market, Victorian and NSW governments decided if they could not beat them they would regulate them.

This has left incumbent taxi owners angry as licences are to be bought back at rates they find offensive.

Wodonga taxi owner Scott Cowie used the analogy of having your home sold out from underneath you.

“They’re taking an asset away – if you own a house and it’s worth $10, they’re taking your house off you and giving you $2 back,” Mr Cowie told The Border Mail.

He took to the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House on Saturday as part of a demonstration against the Victorian government.

A similar rally was held on Monday alongside a blockade of Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge.

“We've lost almost everything. We've got nothing now. The last licence we paid $440,000 for about seven to eight years ago,” a driver told The Age.

“We've lost all them years, all my younger years when I left my wife and kids at home, no holidays, and at the end we get nothing. We worked for nothing all those years.”

The anger is understandable, but was it avoidable?

Transport Minister Jacinta Allan says $420 million has been allotted to a transition and support package.

The market, which guides public policy, had clearly spoken in capital cities with passengers voting to use ride-sharing services.

That left the taxi industry flatfooted and the backlash has now emerged.

The reality is it had to improve in capital cities and those really suffering by being caught in the net are country taxi owners.