The big difference here is that I know the cost. Getting into a cab it was always kind of blind, and a cab driver definitely tried to screw me one time by driving in circles (we were very drunk, and I noticed at some point we hadn’t made it very far, so I started paying attention and it was clear pretty quickly that he had circled back almost to where he had picked us up).
Also when I lived out in Queens, cabs rarely came out there. I had to hike all the way to Queens Blvd to have a chance, and even then they would barely stop at night. Would often get told to “get out” when asking for them to take me back to Queens. I’ve even been able to get a Uber out almost out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
Lyft/Uber definitely has their problems, but cabs weren’t some shining beacon on the hill.