The reason people are choosing Uber is because the taxis suck. It's really that simple.

Uber costs more and people will pay it. They pay it because you know what you are getting and you know that if you dont get it then the company will make it right. Uber is the most transparent company I've been able to find when it comes to auto transport. They give you a receipt with the route and the fare. Every component of the tally is right there for you. They even round down the total.

What Taxis are pissed about is that there is a viable competitor for the BEST fares. Taxis dont want to upgrade their product but they want to keep the top of the market. I say good riddance. If every taxi in DC went out of business I wouldn't shed a single tear.

edit:typo.

> The reason people are choosing Uber is because the taxis suck. It's really that simple.

It isn't really that simple, of course.

Taxis may indeed generally suck in some places. They certainly don't suck in others.

Some places with non-sucky-in-general taxis: Japan, the U.K. (in Japan, the main issue with taxis is that they can be expensive ... but of course, that's one area where Uber apparently sucks as well...).

Indeed, pretty much every place I've ever ridden in a taxi, the service has been absolutely fine. Granted NYC taxi-drivers can be a bit annoying (e.g. spending the entire ride talking at loud volume on their cellphone, getting pissy if you they think you didn't tip enough), but I've never had an actual issue.

Industry level unions are essentially no better than the lobbyists used by multinational corporations - both attempt to enforce cartel pricing in the markets of their paying constituents via political action. Regulation must allow entry of new entrants if safe to do so for both consumers and drivers - competition is good if regulated correctly.