Uber should cost more than a regular taxi considering the service. When I travel to a city Uber is available. When I travel to a suburban location near a city

Uber should cost more than a regular taxi considering the service. When I travel to a city Uber is available. When I travel to a suburban location near a city, Uber is available. There are dozens of different small-time cab companies and regional livery companies none of whom have an app, so they must either hire too few drivers and become overbooked or have drivers sit idle. The last few times I've tried to book a black car they have been sold out. The time before that the car that showed up had no seatbelts, the driver seemed drunk, and my female companion was seriously creeped out by the experience. Uber creates a regional market and lets anyone compete. If you drive to the city every day for a normal 9 to 5 job, you can pick up a fare on the way in and on the way home and likely offset most of the monthly car payment. There is just no way to compare traditional taxi/livery with what Uber offers. One time my Uber driver was griping about how he'd bought his Cadillac before Uber launched and did not make enough money to justify the purchase, since few Uber riders opted for the premium vehicle option. While this is too bad for him, it shows how misaligned the black car industry was. He thought he had to buy an $80K car in order to make money, but he could have bought a $20K car. For many other people, Uber has made this choice obvious and they can now save or invest that other $60K however they choose (or not be slaves to the debt for that extra few years). Keep in mind too that Uber was forced to include Taxis in its app for years, essentially training the entire industry how to be modern. In a fair competition Uber would have won handily in its first year or two in business. But it is the supreme unfairness of the competition that drives Uber's valuation. It's not every day that someone walks in and overturns a massive, corrupt industry on a worldwide scale. I'm proud to have heard Travis speak at Startup School a few years ago, and I think that we should all try not to forget just how incredible Uber's achievement has been and how many peoples' lives have been made significantly better by Uber's existence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ6GoY2_Ujw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ6GoY2_Ujw