This describes the taxi experience I've had in every city the world over. Not that I've been everywhere, but places in Europe, Asia, North/Central America, that's been my experience. Small towns are generally better because the taxi driver isn't anonymous.
They're fairly polite in Japan and don't try to rip you off, but many taxi drivers are 900 years old and have incomprehensible accents (Japanese ones, not foreign) so it can be a little hard to explain where to go.
I think they're fine in the UK too. But they absolutely aren't in California, Uber was a godsend and far less criminal even considering all the stuff they have done.
