Uber has no business being in this group. They provide real value to customers and drivers. Taxis have provided absolute shit service in many places and Uber absolutely came in with a superior product and business.
at this point the average Uber driver is no better than the average taxi driver, and the last time I compared the price of an Uber ride to the price of a taxi the taxi was 10% cheaper.
Uber got where it did by losing vc money and by ignoring laws. That fits my personal definition of bullshit company.
Your Uber driver will never mysteriously "forget to turn on the meter", have a "broken credit card machine", or any of the other scams taxi drivers pulled on me constantly.
No instead they will call you before the trip and ask you where you are going and then cancel the trip after hanging up.
If it is raining or the sun is out or the trains are busy or it is any of one a hundred random reasons - you will have surge pricing. Not just 10-15% extra but 100-150% extra. But don't worry keep standing around for a 30-40 minutes and checking the app eventually the price will come down...
Uber got where it did by losing vc money and by ignoring laws. That fits my personal definition of bullshit company.