This is a big problem with taxi drivers is australia. At 2am you'll be lucky to get a taxi home, because they change over at 3, so they don't like to go 10 minutes in the opposite direction.

I'm glad there is the Uber alternative!

It turned into a safety issue too with stories about women being stranded because the fare was 'too low' or 'in the wrong direction' for the driver

Uber is of course a ridesharing service, so it's reasonable for the driver to confirm that you're going the same way they are, to prevent a detour. /s

Or to a "bad neighborhood"

I don't know why you're using quote, there are legitimately dangerous neighborhoods that someone may not want to drive to at 2:30 AM. Granted, if that's the case, then they shouldn't be Ubering at 2:30 AM, but it's still a legitimate concern.

At least in my experience, "bad neighborhood" more often than not simply means "black people live there."

At least in my experience, there are plenty of nice neighborhoods of mixed ethnicity and absolute shit neighborhoods regardless of ethnicity.