In Israel, we don't (yet) have Uber, but we do have GetTaxi, a similar service. I have become addicted. It's convenient, simple, gives me a GPS indication of

In Israel, we don't (yet) have Uber, but we do have GetTaxi, a similar service. I have become addicted. It's convenient, simple, gives me a GPS indication of where the taxi is, and lets me use a credit card. The fact that I know where the taxi is, what car to look for, and can easily complain if there is a problem (not that there really has been) makes it irresistible for me. Every time I have used it, I have been quite pleased, even when I was unhappy with the ride -- it allowed me to give the driver a low score. I don't think that these services are a replacement for public transportation. But they are a very efficient and even addictive replacement for traditional taxi companies, which are going to have to catch up somehow. The article quoted the researchers saying that many of the trips taken on Uber/Lyft would never have been done at all, had it not been for the service. Or it would have taken much longer via public transportation. Sounds to me like the public transportation routes need to be updated -- or that we're talking about outliers whose travel needs will never be adequately handled by mass transit. I'm just fine, by the way, with having taxi regulations be enforced for these new sorts of services. I don't want to have companies completely unregulated when it comes to driver backgrounds, safety, licensing, and so forth. But I also think that the regulations will need to change in order to accommodate these new services, so that they'll continue to benefit consumers more than plain ol' taxis do now.