[erroneousfunk]

> consistent policies that are followed the same by every driver.

This was the most amazing thing about Uber, to me. I live in Boston and used to take cabs all the time pre-Uber (still take the occasional cab from the airport). Cab drivers are rude, frequently claim the credit card machine is down (despite violating city laws saying they're literally not allowed to drive with a broken CC reader), take the long way / detours to run up the meter, air conditioning or heating might be broken, the cars are dirty, no real recourse for bad service. Even if they have a GPS, drivers refuse to "waste time" by typing in your destination address and require turn-by-turn directions. I'd call a cab and it was hit or miss whether they'd show up or not. I even had a cab driver threaten to call the police when I didn't have cash after he tried to claim that Boston was "cash only" on Saturday nights -- and he was driving me to my HOME in the South End, so it should have been pretty clear I wasn't a tourist unfamiliar with local laws.

Even with the most well-designed and reliable app in the world, cab companies can't compete with Uber -- it's the service and consistency that really made it take off.

[debaserab2]

Yep, agreed. I've literally been hijacked and taken to an ATM before by a cab driver who clearly had a VISA sticker on the window of his car. While uber seems pretty evil these days, I just can't risk the unreliability of traditional cab services.