Uber, Lyft face pushback from US hometown taxis

San Francisco

A SAN Francisco taxi operator, desperate to protect a troubled industry's turf, is trying to tighten the rules for Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc in their hometown.

In a struggle playing out across the US and in Europe, traditional cab companies have gone to court complaining they're at a grave disadvantage because upstart ride-hailing services got a pass from regulators.

With the number of San Francisco licensed taxis at 1,800 and shrinking, compared with 45,0…