Unfathomably Popular?
@InNY: I don't like or use Uber, but "unfathomably popular"? Have you ever used a cab? In my town....
- no credit cards in half the cabs and the rest whack on a £3 or 5% charge (whichever's bigger),
- filthy, uncomfortable, knackered cabs, with no heating in the rear in winter,
- drivers who don't know where they are going,
- cabs that don't turn up on time - or at all,
- no cabs on the ranks late at night,
- cabs that add on the station pick-up charge no matter where they pick you up,
- no way to complain about any of the above which gets results nor any way to find out who the bad drivers/cabs are.
The state has regulated Hackneys since the late 1600s and mincabs since the 60s and in those 300 odd years they've done virtually nothing to improve customer service other than implement general legislation (smoking, seatbelts, disabled access, etc). Getting a cab today was no different from getting a cab in 1965 - until along came Uber. I don't use Uber, their "self employed" model is disingenuous at best and they don't pay their fair share of tax (IMHO) - but they filled a hole that needed filling and, practically, one that could have been addressed by the regulating authorities any time in the last 10 years.