[blader]

I had to take a taxi from San Francisco Airport recently. It was the first time I've been in a taxi in close to 4 years, and it was amazing. On the outside, it's the same looking taxi with the same Yellow Cab company.

On the inside, I've never seen anything like it. Interior was spotless and smelled nice. The driver was exceedingly polite, like a black car driver. They happily took credit cards using a NFC reader. Before that ride I was actively avoiding taxis, and now I'd take one in a heartbeat.

If you haven't taken a taxi in a few years, I think you'll find it really different from what you've remembered, at least in the Bay Area.

[beaner]

In San Francisco, just yesterday I took a taxi that reeked of the driver's body odor. A few months prior, I took a taxi where, after I got in, the driver said if I wanted to use a credit card, he'd have to put it through one of those archaic credit card copy machines [1], so I had to bail and find another ride. And on a regular basis (once per week), taxis in San Franciso which are definitely available drive right by me when I'm attempting to hail. In NYC, a cab would have magically appeared from around the corner; in SF, taxi drivers do not even appear to want to get hailed.

Some are good here. And on average they probably are feeling heat from competition. But many of them are still abysmal.

[1] http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/credit...

[khuey]

You realize the only reason they've cleaned up their act is because Uber et al. are eating their lunch, right?

[gutnor]

Well so ? That how competition works. If the taxi are getting better than Uber, not using because they used to be crap is the same position than people not using Uber because they are not the good old taxi.

[blader]

Right, that's the point of the article the OP posted that I'm responding to.