In my personal experience, you call a cab, and they may not even come. There's no repercussion for that with traditional taxi services.
Uber may be subsidizing pricing now, but there is still a higher price point that provides additional value, particularly for those drinking.
Reliability, convenience, and accountability -- these are the keys.
Even if ridesharing services were the same price as a taxi, knowing roughly how much it will cost before I even call the thing is a huge plus, and knowing the route they will take me on is even better.
I don't need to be constantly on the lookout to make sure my uber driver isn't trying to fuck me by running the meter going the wrong direction giving me some bullshit about how his way is faster and then when we get there the credit card machine is broken and the fare is 3x what you expected (which is already 2x what it was in your home area).
With uber, if someone pulls that I know I can get a refund with a pretty good chance in success. I haven't ever had a taxi company call me back about anything, half the time the fucking taxi doesn't even show up.