[tyingq]

I think it's okay in this case, with taxi meters. The Uber app shows you the route and cost before you commit to it. And, you can verify the calculation with other free tools if you want. A meter in the taxi is actually less useful. It accurately measures distance, but doesn't tell you if the driver took the shortest route.

[mikewhy]

Taxi charges continue while the car is at rest. So the shortest route doesn't mean much if the traffic is barely moving.