From what I've seen, Uber is far more convenient than taxis. When I call a taxi I have to wait anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes only to ride in a usually dirty vehicle for inflated prices by an aggressive driver. Never mind the typical "our VISA machine isn't working" bit.

I've literally never waited more than 5 minutes for an Uber and it's usually closer to 2 - 3. They're fast, clean, fare splitting is a non-issue, and the drivers are almost always friendly. It really is on a different level than taxis in my experience.

Taxis are even worse, they literally corrupt the government and violently threaten (and harass on social media) competition here in France.

depending on where you are, taxis can be much, much worse. "no I won't bring you there, it's not on my way" is just one tiny example.

Some places I lived in the states, you couldn't rely on a taxi to get you to work on time. I specifically asked. You had to call when you needed it and they said you'd wait anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Nothing like being nearly 2 hours early for work when the place isn't even unlocked yet.

The taxis here in Edinburgh are great - the problem I have is when you travel somewhere else and they are often awful: rude, attempting scams, refusing to take you somewhere....

I guess services like Uber have that advantage of relative ubiquity....