TBH, I think the understated selling feature for Uber/Lyft was that they'd show you a price in advance of actually summoning the car.

No reason a taxi service couldn't offer the same experience, but you see a lot of scenarios where that's not an option.

Before Covid, I'd go to the head office in the suburbs of Chicago twice a year. The first few times, I took a taxi from the stand and watched powerlessly as the meter ticked up and up, not knowing when it would stop. With Lyft, I could at least see if it would be $25 or 65 before I agreed to summon the vehicle.

In other news, I wish Metra would go straight to and from O'hare.

The difference is that taxi services usually had one single rate no matter the time or day (at least where I'm at).

But that doesn't mean you know the exact rate between two arbitrary points, especially if there are taxes or tolls.

You don't know the exact rate with Uber or Lyft, either. It depends on how long the trip ends up taking, how far the trip ends up taking, etc.