I'm no fan of the Uber/Lyft model of building their business on the backs of the drivers (classifying them as independent contractors so they don't have to worry about labor laws, etc.) That said, most taxi companies, from what I've heard, weren't much better in that regard, especially with them often leasing out taxis to drivers and the drivers would have to figure out how to make their money from there (often making barely minimum wage after expenses are factored in.) To me, that's basically a net neutral.
Taxi companies, however, can't seem to figure out how to build a remotely usable ride-hail app, at least when I last tried a year or two ago. The couple of times I tried the ride wouldn't confirm even after waiting 5ish minutes, or it would claim it was booked but the ETA would keep climbing and the car in the app wouldn't show movement at all. This was during afternoon rush in an inner-ring suburb, which shouldn't have issues finding a driver. When Uber and Lyft can provide confirmation of a ride heading your way in seconds, maybe a minute or two at most, not being able to confirm that ride and actually have the driver head your way if/when it does confirm seems like a major oversight. They very much seem to be stuck in the mindset of a 30 minute to an hour wait before getting a taxi dispatched is okay; when the competition can do it in minutes (with confirmation in seconds) that doesn't hold up.
