The system seemed relatively alright when I used them before Uber was a thing. Using an app is easier than calling a taxi company though - although the main difference is just that Uber and co are much much cheaper than the taxis used to be. (I can only assume taxi companies must have lowered their prices to compete by now, but I'm not sure).

I'll say this for Uber - the quality and price of our local taxi services have improved significantly since they came on the scene.