[Uber Lyft Taxi Car]Ints Kalnins/Reuters * AFTER USING TAXIS AND RIDE-HAILING SERVICES LIKE UBER IN DOZENS OF COUNTRIES, I'VE BECOME CONVINCED THAT RIDE-HAILING APPS ARE HERE TO STAY, WITH OR WITHOUT REGULATION, FOR A SIMPLE REASON: THEY SERVE A NEED. * WHILE TAXI SERVICES IN MAJOR US CITIES ARE USUALLY RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT, TAXI SERVICES IN MANY FOREIGN COUNTRIES ARE UNRELIABLE, RIDDLED WITH SCAMS, OR FREQUENTLY PRICE-GOUGE BOTH TOURISTS AND LOCALS. * IN COUNTRIES LIKE MEXICO, ARGENTINA, AND COLOMBIA, USING RIDE-HAILING SERVICES OVER TAXIS CAN BE A MATTER OF SAFETY, WHILE IN CHINA, I FOUND THAT I COULD RARELY GET A TAXI TO STOP FOR ME BECAUSE DRIVERS DIDN'T WANT TO NAVIGATE THE LANGUAGE BARRIER. ------------------------- Last Saturday, I left the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece about an hour before sunset. A local had recommended that I head to Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in the city and about a 10-minute drive away, to watch the sunset descend on the Acropolis. For a moment, I had the internal debate that many urban millennials have everyday: Do I call an Uber or hail a taxi? I spotted four or five taxis lined up on the curb in front of the museum and thought “Why not?”SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDERNOW WATCH: This could be the future of ride-hailing SEE ALSO: * Your opinion matters — Join BI Insiders program * Scientists think they have found the reason some people are left-handed — and it has nothing to do with the brain * A 35-year-old who dropped out of high school had a vision of a utopian future for China, the US, and the world — and it's led her to the forefront of a tech startup worth $3 billion SEE ALSO: 'WHY SHOULD WE MAKE FOREIGNERS RICH?': TAXI DRIVERS ARE TAKING ON UBER AND GRAB IN BALI, AND SOME ARE TURNING TO VIOLENCE
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