[SllX]

I’ll argue on the side of their disruption, Uber and Lyft’s.

Prior to their arrival on the scene, getting a taxicab in SF was nigh on impossible for there were far too few drivers, the cabs were often unsanitary, often took up to an hour to arrive when called, the drivers often tried to argue against taking card, often falsely claiming the machine was broken. The complaints stacked up on the SFMTA’s website and the SFMTA did basically nothing.

Uber and Lyft were disruptive, they were disruptive to the benefit of their customers. I have my complaints about Uber the company, but I would take this band of psychopaths over what we had prior to their arrival on the scene.

[dreamcompiler]

Before Uber New York City was the same way except for availability. You could get a cab but it stank, the machine was always "broken", the driver didn't speak English (until it was time to tell you the machine was broken), and if they suspected you were from out of town they would drive you around in circles just to increase the fare. I learned to always start my ride by immediately making it clear to the driver that I expected him to take a particular route and if any monkey business happened I would report him to the TLC. Acting confrontational is way outside my comfort zone but it was the only way not to get fleeced.

All that garbage is gone with Uber and Lyft.

[disgruntledphd2]

I never understood why Uber existed, until I tried to get a cab in San Francisco.

[SllX]

One day we'll get to the point where MUNI is replaced with private bus lines. Although the regulatory environment here might prevent that.