[erikb]

Many comments say it as yours. After reading them I have to agree. I spend most of my time in areas with highly developed public transport. I assumed in the US at least taxis would offer a similar level of flexibility, but apparently not.

[cwilkes]

In Seattle the taxis usually gather at designated pickup spots, in fact I think there's a law about them only being able to pick up from there or if they are called vs hailing from the street.

In the past I've helped tourists by directing them to these locations which aren't noted anywhere. So it can be really confusing plus inconvenient.

That's one of the reasons I like Uber and the like: I don't have to know what to do.