1. The article addresses this: "Although Uber may have been an early adopter of smart-phone-app-based cab hailing, this service has been easily repli­cated by o

1. The article addresses this: "Although Uber may have been an early adopter of smart-phone-app-based cab hailing, this service has been easily repli­cated by other companies, including traditional cab operators, and Uber has no significant advantage here. More importantly, there is no evidence that any of it creates meaningful efficiency gains, or that similar technologies led to major competitive upheavals in any other industry." 2. You can use Apple Maps (or Yandex Maps or any competing app) to get an indication of the best route and its length today. So, I'd say the problem of "shortcuts" is solved by the smartphone, not only/primarily by Uber.