In San Francisco there was nothing before Uber and similar companies started operating. You called a phone number (I used to have it memorized) and some surly i

In San Francisco there was nothing before Uber and similar companies started operating. You called a phone number (I used to have it memorized) and some surly individual would bark at you and then maybe a taxi would come in 40 minutes or maybe not. Later, the driver would explain the credit card machine was broken and you'd need to pay in cash.