That comment was about the city I live in now, Southampton, where we have multiple cab firms with reasonable prices and reasonable apps.

That said I used to live in Streatham in the mid 00s, and sure, the transport situation wasn't great. There was choice back then, but between terrible or worse.

In what part of London aren't there multiple cab firms operating locally? Certainly not "as far out" as Zone 2, where I've caught a cab from dozens of times, and that's not even thinking about firms like Addison Lee that operate across London.

I live in Croydon, zone 5, much further out than Brixton, and have no problem relying on black cabs several times a week, on top of at least half a dozen minicab companies.