Cities that still don't have ride sharing services still see Uber as the shining Messiah coming to save them. Current shenanigans within the company are really not that well known outside of tech circles.

At present, in our city in North Australia, ride sharing services are still technically illegal, but Uber is campaigning hard against local government to get it overturned and the general population are behind them because the local taxi service stinks. Uber are even placing targeted ads on Facebook for local residents, and have a special page on their website just for our city residents to get information on the progress of the fight with our state govt. and local council.

Unfortunately for them, their reputation in the Bay Area will make it harder for them to attract and retain talent and stay competitive in the long run.

Coming from LA and Boston, plenty of people think Uber is a bad company but still use them for lack of better prices. Most people check Lyft and will go with it if cheaper/the same cost.

I live outside the US. I'm a vocal critique of Uber - the company but I love Uber - the service. Evaluating their competitors where I live, it's pretty obvious Uber is a much more seamless and better customer oriented taxi experience than anything else in the market.

Uber has certain ethical issues with its internal culture and with how it interfaces with local government/regulations, but the customer experience is really excellent compared to traditional taxis.