I was and still am a big Uber sceptic and I still resent the idea of having to use them due to their business practises. However, on a trip through London which

I was and still am a big Uber sceptic and I still resent the idea of having to use them due to their business practises. However, on a trip through London which started with a taxi driver basically lying through his teeth that we hadn't been outside, and the tubes being utterly fucked, I thought I'd give it a go. It was amazing. I could see exactly where the damn cab was, the driver was professional and gave us water, the car was clean and comfortable, and the fair was predicted in advance. No bullshitting around trying to explain where you are over a shit phone line, no wondering where the hell the cab was or when it would turn up...it was absolutely fantastic, and it made me re-think things. There are still issues I take with Uber: - It could quickly become a monopoly if they are so hyper aggressive with competition (even for similar things like Lyft) which will mean they just become taxi cabs 2.0. - They should have as or more stringent background checks for drivers, especially as they seem to want to subcontract to people who run their own pools of vehicles. - It's going to be a tall order to keep consistency and quality high. - If they become as successful as they want, I think they will have unfair leverage over drivers and based on their ethics I doubt they are pro union. That said: - Taxi companies have utterly failed to innovate or improve fucking anything for decades, and so I have zero sympathy for them. - The medallion system is ridiculous.