Five-six years ago, when I asked for a receipt for an expense report, I got a hand-scribbled note. Running credit cards often required hand-based crank mechanisms. Autoplaying TV on the back of a seat that was billed unless you explicitly opted out. It was, in short, a scammy operation designed to squeeze you in all the impolite ways, and there was nothing you could do about it. When Uber/Lyft came on the scene, it took the scam out of the taxi industry and transformed the situation into one where you had a clear understanding of the price, where you could get a clear and reasonable receipt (emailed, even!), where you could pay with a card. You get a clear idea of how long the operator will take to arrive.
I had to use a taxi in St Louis, MO last summer. In order to do this I had to call the taxi company. No app, no website, nothing. It took 45 minutes to show up, period. The driver couldn't find me when he got near. I am very glad I did not miss my flight. It reminded me again of how deeply I support the "ride-sharing" services.
I consider the taxicab operations to be corrupt and effectively incompetent, frequently propped up by asinine medallion systems and graft at the city level. Therefore, I refuse to use taxis if Lyft or Uber are available. I will NOT intentionally contribute one red cent to these jokers.
Now, all of what the author said about Uber's flouting of the law is true. And that's not something I'm terribly happy about. But I think there's a certain value in simply ignoring bad law and fixing it on the fly. Might be the American in me, but so it goes.
In any case: if the taxi industry in Japan is honest, competent and well executed, Uber/Lyft will not have the profound advantage it has over the taxi industry in the US.