I remember coming to San Francisco on business trips 11-12 years ago. Cabs were impossible to find - one of the selling points of our office building was that it had a cab stand, so it was a bit easier. We'd walk blocks to find hotels so we could get a cab. We'd call and they'd show up 30+ minutes later, if we were lucky. It was really really frustrating. It made experiencing the city without a car really challenging.
Uber was an incredible breath of fresh air. It just worked. It's more expensive now, but it still just works. And it's probably still cheaper than taxis were.
Best and worst taxi rides I've had were out of SFO about 15 years ago.
Best was in the evening. Went to the cab queue and the guy that pulled up for me had the windows down and was blasting techno from that university station that was around back then. He practically catapulted my gear in the back and off we went. Traffic was light enough he could weave through it doing about 30 over the limit, windows down and techno blaring the whole way. Got to my hotel quite fast.
The worst was mid day, and was a guy that was starting to nod off to sleep at red lights. I nearly got out of the cab but was already late to a big deal meeting, so just stuck it out despite how sketch it was.
Uber was an incredible breath of fresh air. It just worked. It's more expensive now, but it still just works. And it's probably still cheaper than taxis were.
I wouldn't want to go back.