I can put your mind at rest a bit. Uber is definitely real, at least in NYC where I live. You haven't seen their cars because they're unmarked, but there are a

I can put your mind at rest a bit. Uber is definitely real, at least in NYC where I live. You haven't seen their cars because they're unmarked, but there are a lot of them everywhere. It's used by a large chunk of my social circle, which has almost no techies in it. Most of the drivers I speak to use it as one of a number of dispatch tools funneling them rides. All have been broadly positive about it, their complaints being mainly those of any professional driver (i.e. sometimes there just aren't any passengers.)