@sun @susie @lucy When Uber showed up and gave them competition, taxis were in a place where you couldn't just expect them to take card payments, so you had to make sure you carried enough cash to pay for your ride, and then if they did they'd guilt you about tipping electronically so they didn't have to declare it. You had surprises like "ah, airport is a flat (high) fee" that you don't know in advance before you took the taxi, and that's when they didn't take detours to extract more cash. They were also typically terrible uncaring drivers. Uber you went in the car, went out and paid AFTER leaving so that there's no awkward "payment while sitting in the back seat" period and the drivers are terrified of having a less than perfect score so they are extremely pro social.

The inelastic prices for high demand in taxis also meant that there was no extra incentive for them to go out to drive in peak times or to pick you up specifically. I remember after a Christmas office party waiting for over an hour and a half, ordering taxis and them just not showing up (I think I tried 2 or 3 companies). They'd pick up other people than me who called for them because why bother? There's people wanting taxis all over the city and they pay the same! Finally I got sick of waiting in the cold and I just ordered an Uber for 3x usual pricing; and it arrived quickly.