Getting a taxi was a pretty unpleasant experience before Uber. Are they still evil, sure. But taxis were worse.

Unbelievable value to its customers, yeah. That's often the point of a business.

What an odd dismissal. I don't know where you're based, but in most of the US the experience of hailing a cab vs getting an Uber is night and day. The ease of use, the ratings, the price transparency, the availability - are all way superior, price doesn't even come into this. I grabbed a taxi recently and got quickly reminded of what it was like with "sorry, the credit card machine is broken" BS. No thank you.