Uber competes against local cab firms more than it does 'Black Cabs', which tend to be significantly more expensive. Since Uber came to prominence, two local ca

Uber competes against local cab firms more than it does 'Black Cabs', which tend to be significantly more expensive. Since Uber came to prominence, two local cab firms that I used to rely on a lot have ceased trading, leaving me with only app-based entities such as Uber. Uber has its advantages, but as I've moaned about here on HN in the past, its drivers tend to slavishly follow whatever automatatically-derived route it is that Uber spoon feeds them, often meaning they set off in the wrong direction (based upon which side of the road they pick up from) or use routes that anyone who knows the local area (or has The Knowledge) would do their utmost to avoid.