Gross understatement!
1) You can find a cab wherever (almost) and whenever (24x7) - you don't have to hail a cab for minutes/hours (even worse was not knowing when/if the cab would even arrive).
2) Much safer. Emergency support + seeing the route on GPS (can see the path on the driver's uber app) + rating system.
3) Better behaviour, enforced by rating system. Yes, it's not perfect, but much much better than cabs. Cab drivers were regularly abusive, knowing there were no repurcussions. Unfortunately, humans only behave when there's consequences.
4) No scamming vulnerable un-informed people. Cabs were known for scamming foreigners or un-informed people. I can point out a few more things. Calling it `more convenient` is a massive understatement.
> but the drivers are being abused by Uber or Lyft. Which is less than ideal.
This can be fixed by regulation. Just because a new technology brought a new problem, that doesn't mean we should discard the technology and go to its worse predecessor. Remember : there is a reason the new technology took over its predecessor.
I think we can have both : the benefits of digital ride-share + good regulation for drivers to ensure they can maintain their livelihood.
PS : that's until driverless waymo/tesla take over everything...