In my city, especially as a disabled person, I've had vastly better experience with Uber than with regular cabs. Just being able to indicate precisely where to stop on a map is an incredible improvement for me over having to provide instructions to a cab driver who can't find the spot. Not having to deal with cash, drivers more willing to help etc. gives me a much better experience with an Uber.

London cabs can be hailed using apps and accept card payments, so Uber has no real advantage in those respects in London.

I hailed a cab during the big tube strike a few years back. 60 GBP got me, not to the airport, but the DLR (automated trains; no drivers). We had to stop by an ATM since he didn't take cards. Uber had surge pricing at the time due to the strike, so I'm not really sure which one would have been worse.

My concern is more about the precedent that this sets for other cities to follow suit.

In the UK Uber (and other private cab companies) keep being sued for not taking wheelchairs or dogs, or trying to charge extra for doing so.

Here's an interview with a woman who got uber drivers prosecuted: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0783lhl

Here's another article about the same woman: http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/19/blind-woman-repeatedly-turned-...

A different case: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-30523449

And another: http://metro.co.uk/2011/02/28/blind-yvonne-saint-john-guide-...

Uber is far from unique in refusing service dogs or wheelchairs. It seems the rules are more clearly explained to regulated taxis than they are to less regulated minicabs.

Corporations are paying people to post on HN as well as reddit now adays??

This breaks the HN guidelines badly. Please read them and don't do this again.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Here in Vilnius I feel the same. Uber was late to the game (which is weird as they have an engineering office here) so there were a number of other apps launched by local companies that worked with the existing taxi companies. They provided exactly the same service (mobile app where you can specify pickup and drop off locations, and card payment) as Uber, so when they finally launched it wasn’t a big deal.

It’s been two years since Uber launched and they still haven’t really taken off, mainly because they are a lot more expensive than the other apps and don’t have as many cars. Although Uber’s cars are a bit nicer (executive car vs 10yo Prius), people here are cost sensitive so that isn’t really a selling point.