So, a bit of international perspective with a genuine question attached...


Here in Romania (well, Bucharest, but I've used the same system in other
cities here) I never use Uber (although it is available) because licensed
taxis already offer the same convenience.

Background - taxis here represent capitalism red in tooth and claw. You
pay for what you get - if you don't mind a battered old Dacia, you'll
probably pay 1.49lei/km. If you want a less battered one with aircon,
2.49lei/km, and if you want a nice Audi I've no idea (I always go for the
cheap battered Dacia option.) But they are all licensed.

If you're taking a ply-for-hire taxi in the street the price is written on
the door of the cab; I never do that though because all the taxi firms on
the whole already have an app - for example, SpeedTaxi is one of the
1.49lei/km firms I trust - when I need a cab I use their app, it uses my
phone's GPS to find me, and I get told how long it'll be and the taxi
number (the same system is integrated into kiosks at the airport and local
hotels that you use to book a taxi and spit out a receipt with the same
info the app gives me.) There are also 'umbrella' apps like CleverTaxi
that do exactly what Uber does (as far as I can tell,) but the taxis are
all regular licensed taxis (just not from one specific firm), not random
folk with a car.


So, anyway, the question part - I use SpeedTaxi's app to get properly
licensed cabs from a company I trust with the convenience of Uber. Is
there a reason black-cab drivers in London couldn't come up with the same
thing? The convenience of Uber, but the reassurance you'd be getting a
'real' cab?