To be fair, they were popular at first because they were highly convenient. I remember Uber as the first to have a GPS map that told you where your taxi was. Most taxi companies and hotels were seriously lagging behind in terms of use of technology.

That being said, they were malicious companies from the start and the whole business angle was built on taking advantage of loopholes. I'd be fine with a lot of them if they were nationally owned companies though.

[–] T156@lemmy.world 6 points 20 hours ago

They were also presented as being cheaper and more ethical. You didn't risk being roped into paying a higher price because the cabbie deliberately took a long route, or be surprised by the price being different in person. You could order an Uber, and you'd pay only what was in the app.