A lot of those who used to drive for minicabs now drive under Uber&#x27;s banner.<p>However, for the last 30 years at least, in London there has always been the distinction between the more loosely regulated (and cheaper) minicabs with the more expensive Black Cabs providing a better service.<p>With the advent of Uber and the like, minicab services have been the most under pressure since Black Cabs have officially sanctioned advantages that minicabs&#x2F;Uber don&#x27;t, such as using bus lanes, and actually knowing where they&#x27;re going (rather than using a GPS). Also, they are more spacious than almost all ordinary vehicles and can accommodate you and up to 5 of your mates&#x2F;family + luggage for the price of 1.<p>In contrast a typical yellow taxi in NY has a tiny amount of space for the passenger, is usually upholstered with ripped plastic, and the driver is fresh off the boat, and a bit lost.<p>So the improvement Uber offered over the prevailing options was much greater in NY and SF than in London.