> I take local cabs, even collective cabs. It's never been a problem This may be a significant part of why other people are disagreeing with you. Pre-Uber, I

> I take local cabs, even collective cabs. It's never been a problem This may be a significant part of why other people are disagreeing with you. Pre-Uber, I had bad experiences with cabs perhaps 20% of the time. Mostly it was just unreasonable fare demands made after promising something else, but it did escalate to some light stalking and threats of physical violence. (And for whatever it matters, I'm a largish guy and still had that experience.) The vast majority of those experiences were with licensed taxis (or in the worst case, a fake licensed taxi) in America. I'm not at all upset by bartering, asking for help, or struggling with language gaps. I actually agree with you that we've lost something due to Yelp reviews, online bookings, and the larger move to impersonal and intermediated travel. I've had friends be genuinely surprised when I suggested that we skip Yelp while traveling and just wander until someplace looks interesting. But taxis? At best, the mechanical experience is arriving where I'm going. At worst it's a conflict far worse than I can even imagine having in a restaurant or shop. The only personal touch is talking to the driver (or a fellow passenger), and ironically I've actually had more engaging conversations with Uber drivers than with drivers in traditional taxis.