It seems whenever we discuss taxis and Uber/Lyft/etc, one has to make it clear what area the experience happened in. Re-analyzing my experiences, I don't feel I have enough data now to compare both services as they happened in very different cities and not enough times to draw any conclusions.

So rephrasing my argument: I feel safer in my city, with the requirements the local government imposes on taxis (licensing, training, special driver license, etc) versus "anyone can drive an Uber/Lyft". Interestingly, my personal experience has contributed to make this feeling stronger but I understand that will not be the case for others. I often hear a lot of bad stories about taxis in the US and, to make me more confused, that's where I had terrible Uber/Lyft experiences.

I think this only goes to show there's a huge lack of quality everywhere, with both services.