Outside of the super high end, the middle ground is simply not available any more where I live. Even the old taxi companies, under pressure from our regional Ub

Outside of the super high end, the middle ground is simply not available any more where I live. Even the old taxi companies, under pressure from our regional Uber-copycat, have switched to an app-only, quantity-over-quality, throughput-focused model. I can't call and book a ride at a specific time in advance (this used to be possible, of course with a waiting fee), the drivers will no longer let us make detours or stops on the way because their next ride is already booked by the time they pick you up, they drive like maniacs to hit their time targets, all while constantly fiddling with the three phones stuck to their dashboard viewing and accepting rides from the three platforms they "work for". All of this for a 20% decrease in fees (which started rising back up the moment a near-monopoly was established) and having them "all in one app", even though there are now 3 "all in one" platforms, each with their own set of quirks that you need to remember just like we had to remember for the different taxi companies before.