After my experiences having grown up with cabs, I am honestly willing to pay a significant premium to use Uber and Lyft.

It is not an understatement to say that I hate traditional taxis. I hate the terrible service. I hate having them refuse fares based on where I'm going. I hate calling to schedule a pickup in advance and the driver just not bothering to show up. I hate being pressured to pay in cash instead of credit card and having them berate and insult me when I insist on card. I hate having to be on alert to see if they're taking a deliberately longer route or running up the meter. I hate the verbal and sexual harassment they have doled out to me and my friends with no consequences, because there is absolutely nothing in their business model that provides them any incentive to treat their customers with courtesy and respect.

I want to see taxis crash and burn, I want to see them fail, I want to see them removed from my experience on this earth. I don't think I'm alone in that, and I will continue to use Uber and Lyft and pay far more than taxis because they provide an exceptionally better service.

Also Uber Pool/Lyft Line are brilliant and taxis will never bother to replicate that kind of efficiency.

With all due respect (I can appreciate paying more for quality, I do so myself!), there are not enough of you to justify rideshare valuations (which are based on taking over the world, not being a boutique transportation network for the discerning mobility user).

Agreed, their current valuations cannot be justified. I'd argue the same can be said of most tech companies right now, though. At some point the markets are going to have to acknowledge that taking over the world/infinite growth is just not going to happen for all (or any) of the companies promising it, and some incredibly disappointing and painful market adjustments will have to be made. I am hoping some rideshare companies - or similar competitors - can ride it out and eventually settle into something more realistic with higher fares, because I believe the market is there. I think the world in general needs to start thinking about what it looks like to make sustainable companies instead of cancer-like world-conquering monoliths. It may not be a reasonable dream, though - Uber is definitely too far gone. I'm less certain about Lyft.

In the past month, I and friends/family have experienced the following with Uber:

- Accusations of racism

- Dangerous driving

- Detours/no idea where they're going

- Being held hostage (took 4 very strong demands to be let out)

- Given a lecture because the driver couldn't find the address and told if you don't like the service to get out.

The grass isn't always greener

Sure, those problems can still exist with Uber - but drivers who cause problems are systematically weeded out over time. I've had my fair share of issues, but it makes a big difference to me that once I give a driver a bad rating/report them to Uber they will never be matched with me again, and if they consistently deliver bad experiences they will eventually be removed altogether. A taxi driver can exhibit the same bad behaviour for decades and suffer no consequences. The human element always means bad actors will be present, but under rideshares they are removed over time (and customer input is taken seriously) and under taxis they thrive (customer reports of harassment are literally laughed at). The helplessness is infuriating.

I have a bad experience maybe 10% of the time I take a rideshare, with taxis it's more like 75%. That does mean bad experiences will continue to happen either way, but I still favour the former and will pay more for it. Plus ridesharing still has the benefit of pooling, knowing costs up front, paying through cards without harassment, having the company keep a detailed record of your pickup/dropoff and route so reports of issues can be substantiated, quickly rescheduling if a driver fails to show (plus a map to see when a driver is not on route), etc. I think it's a clear win - at worst they share some of the problems taxis have, but taxis share none of the benefits that rideshares have.

> A taxi driver can exhibit the same bad behaviour for decades and suffer no consequences

We take taxis quite seriously in England. They are granted licences from the local government (the council). They are overseen by Licensing Officers.

I've only reported a taxi driver once (I can't recall exactly what for, but it wasn't anything too egregious), but it seemed like a swift and thorough investigation. They quicky summoned the driver to their office to explain himself and then gave me a report on the matter.

Customer input seemed to be taken quite seriously.

However, it seems the licensing framework does seem centred around drivers' criminal convictions, so the police would have to be involved in serious matters.

Unless Uber keeps its drivers to account, this is unacceptable. Nobody should have to be scared of their own taxi driver.

I take rideshare services multiple times per week with zero problems. Maybe it has something to do with the region/city? I've had the occasional issues, and in a few cases I've gotten out and called another car. But around 98% of the time it's completely frictionless.

Never had the 70 year old driver who drives 5mph under the speed limit and stops for any thing that looks like its near the road? Then I say your post is a big lie!

I don't believe that Uber/Lyft/Someone can't operate a ride sharing service at a profit. Taxis have done it for decades and now that the technologies have been invented, I don't see any reason Uber/Lyft can't ever be profitable. They may not be profitable enough to justify the amount of investment they've received, but they'll likely still exist in some for or another.

The cat is out of the bag. Nobody is going back to taxis.