Reliable taxi services are only commodities in a few large, rich, well-regulated places (and there are plenty of large and rich places where they're not, to this day!)
I currently live in one of the wealthier western european countries, and when I need to go to/from an airport, I have a particular guy I call. He'll usually in turn call someone else in his network of drivers, and someone impeccably professional (maybe with a beard, but always in a suit) will show up in a new E-class (or better) with perfect reliability. There's never any fuss, the price is fixed beforehand - never surge pricing - and at about 50% more than the cheapest possible non-refundable pre-paid shuttle service, I consider it well worth the cost. Any random taxi here, by contrast, will be a ripoff at best and frequently unreliable.
Almost* everywhere I've lived I've sought out and patronized "a guy" like this. In some (not rich, not western) places it's been a solo operator with his own car. In others maybe a bit more professionalism in terms of having a business name and business cards (i.e. a car service, but not a big name one). I'll take "a guy" over Uber or (god forbid) the local taxi mafia every time.
Commodity taxis are shit. Repeat business builds trust.
*- I never found "a guy" in Seattle. Fuck Orange Cab and STITA. And for plenty of other reasons, fuck Uber.
I currently live in one of the wealthier western european countries, and when I need to go to/from an airport, I have a particular guy I call. He'll usually in turn call someone else in his network of drivers, and someone impeccably professional (maybe with a beard, but always in a suit) will show up in a new E-class (or better) with perfect reliability. There's never any fuss, the price is fixed beforehand - never surge pricing - and at about 50% more than the cheapest possible non-refundable pre-paid shuttle service, I consider it well worth the cost. Any random taxi here, by contrast, will be a ripoff at best and frequently unreliable.
Almost* everywhere I've lived I've sought out and patronized "a guy" like this. In some (not rich, not western) places it's been a solo operator with his own car. In others maybe a bit more professionalism in terms of having a business name and business cards (i.e. a car service, but not a big name one). I'll take "a guy" over Uber or (god forbid) the local taxi mafia every time.
Commodity taxis are shit. Repeat business builds trust.
*- I never found "a guy" in Seattle. Fuck Orange Cab and STITA. And for plenty of other reasons, fuck Uber.