I guess it depends on who you ask, but living in Japan I got the impression they're seen as an important role in society. Every taxi I had ever taken had a middle aged man in a business suit driving. I'm not talking about "getting picked up from the airport on business" taxi drivers, I received extremely professional service any time of night from any random street. Others in this thread point out that they're sometimes crabby, but as long as you know the basics of Japanese etiquette I think you're in for a good experience. While a was cautious at first (as any person in a foreign country ought to be), I quickly stopped feeling like I needed to protect myself from scams.

You might encounter a rude driver from time to time, but petty scams (other than bilking old people via phone) are extremely rare in Japan.

From my experience, most people in Japan seem to take a lot of pride in being honorable. Therefore, scams are pretty few and few between in general.

>everywhere in the EU

I've never had issues with taxi drivers trying to scam me in Vienna.

Try Italy, Greece, Spain and Czech Republic to name a few.

I don't like Uber as a company, but I dislike Taxi's in foreign countries a lot more. It is not the foreign part that I dislike, but not knowing the formal and informal rules. What if the meter starts at 5 euros? Is that a normal amount here? What if the meter isn't turned on and the driver insists that I make a deal? Is that normal here? etc. Uber might be more expensive than local taxi's in some places, but at least I know what I get.

I agree, except if you're getting a taxi from the airport, as plenty of drivers will happily add on 10-20€ to your price. I always recommend to visiting friends to shop around for a better price, or to just order online (google: taxi airport vienna and lots of websites will pop-up).

Come to Budapest :)

hint: never get into freelancer taxis.

German taxis are fine.

Interestingly, Uber in Germany (Berlin at least) are taxis

https://www.rbb24.de/content/dam/rbb/rbb/rbb24/2018/2018_10/...

I'd never use Uber

They are, but how do I know that as a tourist? I don't. That is why, on vacation, I prefer Uber et al.

Not really, usually super pricey and try to scam you by taking a longer route.

But you can see the route and price beforehand on the mytaxi or taxi.eu apps? (Which existed before Uber, btw)

Well, ignoring their diesel emissions...