Public transit is not an option in these places (midsize US cities: no subway, very sparse bus service).

Vs Uber: I personally prefer driving myself. No wait, and freedom (shoot, it's 10pm and I realize I forgot to pack toothpaste, I might not want to pay Uber $20 for a stupid round trip to CVS to buy a $2 tube of toothpaste). Also I tend to get carsick if the driver's not smooth.

Also most cities that are small and aren’t college towns have pretty terrible uber experiences. Not enough drivers and the ones that are there will probably reject your ride if they think they won’t get another fare easily wherever you get dropped off.