How does this company still exist?

Because a lot of people still use their services, and apparently are unconcerned with the company's ongoing transgressions.
Once a company's name becomes a commonly used word for something like getting from point A to point B, they're probably here to stay.

You're probably right. I'm glad uber didn't get as much business here as they have in the US, and (wishful thinking) I hope it's at least partially because of the messed up business ethics they maintain. The last few months the news around uber hasn't really been uplifting, so I still find it amazing they're as big as they are.

The last few months the news around uber hasn't really been uplyfting
Fixed. :)

Remind me- Netherlands? Sweden?
Whichever, you probably have better public transport options and if it's the Netherlands you've got all those damn bikes. But the main thing is that despite all the issues with Uber's ethics and practices, the reason they're so successful is that they provide a service that people want and use.

Netherlands indeed. There's still plenty taxis around here though, and people -especially the older generations- keep using them. Next to that there's some resistance from the government making it somewhat more difficult to become an uber driver. Licenses are the same as for regular taxi drivers I believe, and they don't come free ofcourse.

On its own I'm not against the disruptive business model some companies run, but with so many things being questionable I'd rather spend a few euros more on a regular taxi.

Edit: I should add that there's been a 'taxi war' going on here for quite a few years, between settled taxi companies as well as black taxis (illegal taxis, not paying taxes and such). The arrival of uber only added fuel to it, making regular taxi companies take a more fierce stand against such practices. That probably doesn't help them either.

Interestingly the most expensive taxi ride I ever took was in Amsterdam. Wife got sick and we took a taxi from the hotel to a doctor nearby. I don't remember how much it was, probably around 35-40 Euros, I remember it was more than the doctor's bill. Driver was a very well-dressed middle-aged guy. But at the same time I could totally understand the idea behind discouraging motor vehicle use by charging such fares.

Around here the regular taxi services are notoriously unreliable, with plenty of incidents of drivers scamming passengers- especially with airport pickups. Plus you still need to either hail or phone for a ride, attempts at taxi-hailing apps have never left beta testing phase. Depending on time and distance, Uber isn't necessarily cheaper, but just the convenience of getting a ride from almost anywhere within minutes with a few taps, knowing the fare in advance and instantly paying via credit makes it a very appealing, practical option.

Amsterdam is a different kind of city in many ways, I avoid it like the plague. But yes, taxis aren't extremely cheap outside Amsterdam either. I think we've got the benefit that our country is quite small, and even our biggest city is merely a village compared to let's say NY or LA. That makes it easier to travel by public transport as you already mentioned, and when people take a taxi it's probably from a set location swarming with taxis, and just for a few km. Doesn't hurt the wallet that much, usually.

But 35 euros for a taxi is preposterous, unless they'd have to drive around the whole city. So yeah, I can see how uber is doing well. I just hope there'll be a healthier competition driving uber to less horrible strategies. Not sure how Lyft is doing, seems to be alright.

"Amsterdam is a different kind of city in many ways, I avoid it like The Hague."
Fixed that for you.

Also nice and flat, perfect bicycling conditions.

most people today have no consumer conscience about such matters.

Which is why boycotts dont do well in this day and age of globalism.

I don't know if this is unique to today. Whether a boycott is effective is always a question of relative outrage vs. the need for the product or service being boycotted.
If anything, the age of globalism and global media has amplified the power of bad publicity. Uber is concerned enough about their public persona to have at least publicly addressed issues like sexual harassment, scabbing the NY immigrant taxi strike, and their CEO being a total dick.

I think boycotts prove more effective when you dont have a sizable base of consumers to sell to. The more your pool of potential income grows, the harder it becomes for people to align with boycotts for a variety of reasons; diffrrent culturan norms, different societal views, different level of being informed.

As it stands, a company can act horribly in one market and be lauded for it by another (chik-fil-a anyone?)

How is it the taxi cab companies haven't adapted to compete. The appeal of uber is mostly the great app experience.

You mean the regular taxi companies don't have apps? They do over here, at least a bunch of them. If they're as easy to use as Uber's I wouldn't know, haven't used it from either side.

Uber for me is just a better experience overall than taxis or Lyft.

1) Great app, but more than the experience is 100% inclusive on the app. I pick A and I pick B, someone comes and picks me up and I get out at B and walk away. No expectation of tips or paying or anything.

2) Drivers in my experience are significantly better than Lyft (who's cars and drivers always seem much worse) or Taxis. The vetting process for drivers and cars seems a lot better on Uber.

1) I can do the exact same thing with a Flywheel app.

2) My experience has been that Lyft and Uber drivers, while nice, are often less inexperienced than the taxi drivers I regularly get. Unless something's changed recently there's zero vetting process for Uber drivers, you can literally sign up on the website and become a driver without ever speaking to anyone.

And the people I know who drive or have driven all say that Lyft treats them better than Uber does. Even the drivers hate Uber.

Oh, and I think you answered your question. There are a bunch of taxi companies and getting them conspire together to compete with a quality product in low margin (e.g. not near airports or the like) areas just isn't going to happen.

It's already happened. Any taxi company that wants to stay in business will have an app, or they won't be in business for much longer.

I think the latter is more or less coming because Taxi company apps generally aren't cross-company and aren't great. I think the Chicago area has 3 or 4 different apps? Why bother when Uber continues to be the better experience. And if I go to another city, I need another 3-4 apps.

We may see a lot of consolidation in the space and then some giant-taxi company making a cross-country taxi app, but seems unlikely.

The smart ones have. There are at least two companies with apps in San Francisco, and at least one in Las Vegas.

I wish them luck, I hope they come with an app that works for travelers new to town. That's where uber''s app shines for me.

Yeah, that is an advantage Uber has in the cities it's penetrated - the taxi apps so far are specific to both company and city, which is a problem (I use Flywheel in SF, there's also YoTaxi for Yellow Cab).

I know about the Vegas one (Way2ride) because I made a point to look for one while I was visiting last year, but most people don't bother.

I think companies have tried this before and it tends not to hold up in court.

I think you cannot sign away liability
(I'm not a lawyer, but I play one online.)

I'm not an expert on this, but my recollection is that you can sign away simple negligence but not gross negligence.

blah blah blah, shocked I tell you shocked blah blah blah.

"Disruption economy" is just another way to say "rape culture". Boundaries? They just get in the way. Consent? Who needs it. Ethics? Sounds like a foreign concept.

Uber has the toxic corporate culture it does because it was fertilized in Travis Kalanick's brain. Which is why they're having a meltdown recently with sexual harrassment complaints, a departing president, and lawsuits over intellectual property theft. Couldn't happen to a nicer piece of shit.