... and that exactly what the Taxi industry should do, step up. Not just in price, but in technology. IMO the best feature of Uber is the app and transparency like features of taking a trip. If I can pull the app up, input where I am and where I want to go, how much it will cost, and when my driver will be here, I'm happy.
The few experiences I've had with local Taxi systems, coming from a everyone-drives-a-car suburban background, have been awful. Overcharging, credit card machine breakdown, and unreliability of driver arrival estimation have made me seek out more expensive alternatives, just to avoid the hassle.
I now live in a city where I take public transport 90% of the time. But that 10% has been made so much easier by Uber and Lyft(they offer the "same" features, so they are the same in my book). They tell me; How long until the driver is here(often incorrect, but only by a small factor), how long the trip will take(often incorrect, by only by a small factor), and how much it will cost(often correct or guaranteed).
None of the features above sound unique to Uber/Lyft, the only difference between them and Taxi's are subsidization by Capitalization. I've heard of Flywheel offering the same app features Uber/Lyft do, but Uber's are often under ~$10 where I am, which a Taxi can take anywhere from $25-$45. But if Uber's subsidization goes dry, as long as there's an feature-like alternative, I'd still pay for that.