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We stopped taking cabs years ago when the cab we ordered for very early in the morning didn't show up, ending in a scramble to get to the airport and parked.

What most people like about Lyft or Uber: known price, known route, and backup drivers automatically located if there's an issue with the first driver.

That peace of mind seems worth paying for.

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The "hack" that a couple of the comments in this chain are referring to is only ever taking cabs _from_ a major airport into a city. Often you don't have to play the waiting-on-someone-to-show-up game, there's just a line of them right outside the airport that you can hop in immediately. In some cities there's even flat rates they have to adhere to, depending on where you're going ("$20 to midtown").

I was gleeful when Uber and Lyft came on the scene to have an alternative to cab BS, but the one place they still shine is when going from an airport into a major metro area.

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