I was a cab driver and have driven for Lyft. So got something to say about this biz in general:

1. Cab drivers in general are professionals, they know the city, they know the traffic, the know 'where the action is', Lyft and Uber drivers are mostly inexperienced drivers with little knowledge of the cities they work in.

2. Lyft and Uber are effectively destroying an entire industry that has had to comply with plenty of regulation - because Uber and Lyft brand themselves as 'tech' companies, they get around all regulations. This is a horrible deception to the public, and is nothing more than skirting the law.

3. Lyft and Uber are killing the cab industry on the backs of the drivers. Taking over 25% of the fare, and paying NOTHING towards the many expenses. (Driver pays for gas, phone, car, insurance, tolls, cleaning, etc) - once they get their self-driving cars running and no cabs left, the fares will rise astronomically.

4. Lyft and Uber are EVIL GREEDY ASSHOLE Corporations.

As for your 'cleanliness' comment. True, unfortunately there are some drivers that simply never clean their cab. But I would be willing to bet if you needed to get somewhere in a big hurry, you would stand a better chance of makiing your appointment with that dirty cab rather than an uber.

I am working on a biz plan for a hybrid Corp/Co-op that will hire only full time drivers, assist them with the expenses, charge a flat rate terminal fee, an on call dispatcher for emergencies, and compliance with industry regulations. There needs to be a change before these guys get their self driving cars on the road. Anyone interesed message me.

I have never taken a cab, I’ve used uber about 4 times.

The last few cabs I rode in were nice clean mini-vans.