At first, for many years actually, neither Uber nor Lyft offered an upfront quote. The other feature, to press a button on your phone and book a cab to your lo

At first, for many years actually, neither Uber nor Lyft offered an upfront quote. The other feature, to press a button on your phone and book a cab to your location instantly, existed in a taxi hailing app that I used in Los Angeles around 2010, which I think was called "MyTaxi". I'll admit it wasn't as reliable as getting an Uber or Lyft now is, but it was still 2010. Funny enough, before the upfront fares on Uber/Lyft, I did see drivers try to pull that "shortcut" move! In either case you just have to be firm and have them stick to your route. Uber and Lyft opened up some supply and juiced everything by subsidizing rides with cheap VC money. You can call that innovation if you'd like to.