I would absolutely prefer a cab to Uber now. The pricing was better, the service was better, we weren't expected to mutually review each other, and I could flag one down on the street. If I walked to a taxi stand, it was instant satisfaction.
The only things that improved with Uber were price and coverage, and they tried to fool us into seeing other improvements that didn't exist, largely by painting cab drivers as scary, stinky, subhuman swindlers and implying people that drove Uber were all part timers who usually worked at real jobs. Now the prices are sky high and the things take as long or longer as cabs did to show up.
Maybe there's room for an Uber in tiny places that don't need cab companies or even full time cabbies, but everywhere else, they've just added another layer of rentseeking over a familiar experience. We could have gotten rid of the medallion system without replacing it with this thing. Let's make gigwork illegal so Uber will have to contract with local companies, or reduce themselves to people they're willing to employ.
The only things that improved with Uber were price and coverage, and they tried to fool us into seeing other improvements that didn't exist, largely by painting cab drivers as scary, stinky, subhuman swindlers and implying people that drove Uber were all part timers who usually worked at real jobs. Now the prices are sky high and the things take as long or longer as cabs did to show up.
Maybe there's room for an Uber in tiny places that don't need cab companies or even full time cabbies, but everywhere else, they've just added another layer of rentseeking over a familiar experience. We could have gotten rid of the medallion system without replacing it with this thing. Let's make gigwork illegal so Uber will have to contract with local companies, or reduce themselves to people they're willing to employ.