[jyl]

Thanks for the explanations. I suppose I will download Uber and try it sometime.

When at home, I use taxis just to get to/from the airport. Radio Cab is our local co-op taxi company, they get to my house promptly, take cards, cars are clean and drivers are professional. No complaints. When traveling, I basically just take taxis from hotel to hotel, so there is no waiting or hailing involved - "doorman, I need a cab" "yes sir, here you go" - and in the cities I go to, all the cabs have touchscreen credit card readers.

So I'm not hungering for a better alternative to conventional taxis. But Uber sounds pretty interesting as a replacement for owning a car. Between ZipCar/Car2Go, Uber, bikes, and transit, it isn't clear to me that anyone really needs to own a car in Portland.