I noticed this in San Francisco and i really think it depends on the devices. The iPhone users? Mostly spot on. But several other Uber/Lyft experiences with drivers that had lower cost phones (mostly the freebie Samsung or Motorola Android devices) were having issues with navigation.

The iPhone and higher end Samsung devices definitely have more accurate GPS chipsets built in and were doing a way better job of keeping track of where we were.

It's often not the navigation directions that suck, but the ability for the driver to drive effectively while glued to the GPS unit.

I remember this one time in an uberX where the driver missed the Manhattan Bridge onramp turnoff 3 times in a row and had to circle around. The GPS directions were good, but inexperience also includes being unprepared to execute the directions given to you.

One good example I can think of is if there is a no-right-turn-on-red combined with an unusually long red light. These are common in intersections with 4 green-left-turn arrows.

A knowledgeable driver might know to make a right turn at an earlier intersection, whereas the navigation apps do not always account for this.

> > but sometimes can cause an Uber ride to take twice as long as a taxi ride

> I always imagined any navigation app will on average outperform even a knowledgeable driver.

On average, probably. Worst case and on-average aren't the same thing, though.