[nyghtly]

So you're saying that the only reason you didn't take a taxi everywhere before Uber was because the drivers are smelly? Well maybe you have money to burn, but most other people don't. If Uber charged what it really costs to operate their services, then you would see a massive drop in riders. It doesn't matter how much less smelly you think they are compared to taxi drivers.

[kelnos]

Not the parent you're responding too, but -- yes, exactly this. I rarely took taxis pre-Uber because the drivers were surly, the pricing difficult to predict, cars impossible to hail, and dispatchers (if you could even reach them on the phone) useless. If you called for one and they actually agreed to send you one, you'd be waiting at least 20 minutes, and often after 40 minutes you'd finally realize they were never coming. Oh, and don't forget the frequent "sorry, the credit card machine is broken" bullshit lie, and the annoying fumbling for cash and getting change.

I'm sure I don't need to enumerate how Uber/Lyft fixed all of these problems nearly perfectly. Sure, many cities have apps for their taxi services now, but they're nearly universally inferior and don't fix all of these problems, at least not to my satisfaction.

Realistically, though, not using Uber for me means driving everywhere. Including the stress of traffic, the stress of finding parking, the stress of wondering if someone is going to smash my car windows, and the stress of ensuring I'm sober enough to drive when I want to go back home. I'll pay quite a bit to avoid that stress. I get that there are some people who won't, or can't, but all that means is that Uber's addressable market will be smaller when they charge enough to be profitable.

[nice_byte]

pretty much yes.

i used to live carless, and would need late rides on a regular basis. i was taking the fancy black lincolns in the days before uberX was introduced and pay ridiculous prices for them because uber was the only game in town - taxi services didn't need my money. it's not just that they were smelly or whatever - they were literally unavailable.

quality of service matters. having to sit in a filthy car - if you can even get a hold of it - and help the driver navigate is not good quality service.

there's demand for quick, convenient quality transportation, and uber fills it.