[jasonbarone]

I don't doubt that they are friendly but honestly that's irrelevant to most people. The problem is, while they may be friendly, nearly all of them will want to pickup and drop off in the same location because they know it's harder to pickup outside of Manhattan.

This doesn't happen with Uber's model.

Also, I'm paying for a ride somewhere. The top priority for me is not sitting in hot, smelly, filth. I'll stick with Uber.

[soyiuz]

1. NYC taxi cabs are actually pretty clean. Most have AC. Most are only a few years old. You can pass on the hail if you don't like the vehicle.

2. Today Uber has clean, nice smelling cars because it is new. Let's talk after Uber matures a bit like the cabs. We'll be back to where we started, only under the influence of an international monopoly. That does not bode well for the consumer.

3. Uber cannot really solve the imbalance of demand between Manhattan and the peripheries. Uber forces drivers to have a certain acceptance rate threshold. NYC forces drivers not do discriminate based on destination. In either case, drivers will try to game the system to avoid the less profitable journeys.

4. Look to places like Russia and India for the future of Uber. Drivers have 4+ cell phones, subscribing to different services in parallel with holding a cab license.