Here's how:

Riders Want to Feel Safe

"Regulated" Taxi Services are regulated in name only. As any regular rider can attest to getting into cabs in Mexico City where the driver does not match the posted photo badge, or into actual "pirate taxis" that are painted to look like cabs but operate illegally. There are an estimated 20,000 pirate taxis roaming around Mexico City, which is a whopping 14% of the taxi pool. Unlike ride-share services where the company maintains strict regulations in place to ensure that the driver and his car are operating safely and legally, these pirate taxis are incredibly dangerous because the passenger assumes he is getting into a taxi that will take him safely to his destination, but if something were to happen there is nobody to hold accountable.

Mexico City has been trying to crack-down on cab-lending and pirate taxis for years and hasn't been able to make much progress. Once you are in the cab, there is no technology in place to track where and at what time you are picked up and dropped off, or whether you are being driven via the correct and most direct route.

Women feel especially vulnerable when having to take a taxi alone in a big city. And while background checks and psychological tests cannot prevent undesirables from slipping through the cracks, at least if something happens to you in an UBER you can prove without doubt who the perpetrator is and can easily report suspicious activity. Women riders fear traveling alone in taxis, and a large percentage of UBER riders are women.

For example, in Colombia about 60 percent of ridership is female. Over the past several years, Mexico City has provided women-only taxis, buses, and train cars - "pink transportation" - but studies show that these options haven't significantly changed things, and violence is actually on the rise.

Drivers for UBER go through thorough drug screening, criminal background checks, psychological exams, and other tests before they can get behind the wheel. The service has been especially successful in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama and Peru. According to BloombergBusiness, "Caracas, Bogota and Mexico City are the most dangerous cities in the Americas in which to take a taxi". Colombia, especially, had a big problem of terrorist-operated taxicabs that would stop abruptly to allow a counterpart to enter the vehicle and rob the passenger or force him to make an ATM withdrawal. In order to crack down on this issue, riders were advised not to hail taxicabs off the street but instead call and have a cab dispatched to them.

In this manner, there is a record and the license plate number and a security code is provided to them by the dispatcher. Although this has not been a totally fail-safe solution, and UBER has been very successful in Colombia because of riders' need for safety.

Riders want to be Charged Fair Prices

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"Regulated" taxi services don't always have working meters, or claim that the meter is broken so that they can overcharge you or make money under the radar. Riders also complain that taxi drivers hike up the rate after certain hours and don't tell you until you've reached your destination. You have to carry cash to pay for taxis, and you can't always get a receipt if you need one. Businesses love ride-sharing services because they can easily keep track of their transportation expenses online.

Riders Want Comfort

The last time I was in Mexico City, my taxi driver started smoking while we were stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the airport. The car was at least 15 years old, and bore the stains and scents to prove it.

I rode with anxiety throughout and arrived at the airport late and smelling of cigarettes. UBER's come equipped with bottles of water, and many times even have cell phone chargers so that you can charge your phone on the move. In some cities, you can even play your own music in an UBER car now that they have partnered with Spotify.

Riders Want Accountability

If a taxi doesn't arrive on time, or is dirty, or if the driver is rude, or if a cellphone is left in the back seat, it is important to be able to speak with someone who is accountable and takes responsibility. Customer service, where riders' opinion actually matters, is an area especially where ride-sharing services excel. The great thing is that with increased ride-sharing competition, if you don't like the way one company operates you have other options.

Ridesharing Services May be Cheaper than Taxis

In some cities, including Mexico City, taxis can be cheaper than UBER or Cabify. But, if you want to ride with the secure taxis that are stationed outside of hotels or allowed to pick you up at the airport the cost of taxis escalate. In Tijuana, for example, the price to get from the airport to the San Ysidro Border Crossing is $380 pesos at 3 in the afternoon by taxi.

Compare this with $62 pesos for an UBER car at one in the morning for the same ride. And, there is no need to find an ATM to withdraw money to pay for the ride — or worry about the driver being able to break a bill.

Riders Want Reliability

Riders want to be able to summon a ride with just a few taps on their phone and know how long it will take for their ride to get there. Riders don't want to have to hail a cab, or call a central operator who can only give you their best guess as to how long it will take for the taxi to pick you up.

Taxi services have a more or less fixed amount of drivers and have no way of increasing supply if a big convention comes into town. However UBER, for example, has a team in each city monitoring the traffic patterns, events, and social media in order to adjust to demand and traffic-flow patterns in real time. Whereas change in the taxi industry is slow, ride sharing services monitor the movements of its riders and adapt according to the time of day, day of the week, season, and special events.

Public Transportation Systems are Supplemented

UBER has faced backlash from taxi drivers and regulators in Switzerland, Portugal, France, India, Thailand, and Germany — in some cases being partially or completely banned from operating. Unlike countries like Switzerland, France, Germany, and Thailand where public transportation is for the most part safe and efficient, many Latin American Countries in particular struggle with insufficient public transportation systems and high costs that make car ownership prohibitive for low-income earners. Even the United States can benefit from ride share services. In San Diego, for example, the trolley stops running a little past midnight even on a Friday and Saturday night. The bus might get you most of the way home, but you may need to walk a mile to get to the bus stop, or walk a mile once you get off. With ride-share services you can fill in the gaps in the public transportation network, or replace the need for public transportation altogether.

Ride-sharing services have proven especially successful at helping cities reduce their drunk driving incidents. According to a recent study conducted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving in California, drunk-driving crashes fell 6.5% among drivers under 30 in the state. In Seattle, the number of DUI arrests reduced by 10% after the launch of UBERx in the city.

It is Safer for Drivers as Well as Riders

Just as riders can rate how good their ride-share driver was, drivers too can rate the riders. So, if a rider throws up in the back of a car, or verbally abuses the driver, the rider is rated and can be dropped from the service if problems persist. Ride share services are also great employers, and provide formal employment to part-time and full-time drivers. This has been a life changer for people who need to supplement their income when their "day job" is not enough. Actors who are waiting for cast calls, singers who gig a couple of nights a week, and stay-at-home moms can all benefit by making extra money during their down-time, on their own schedule. Because ride-share services are cashless, drivers are also at less risk of being targeted by thieves.

Tourists love Uber

Tourists love UBER because it brings familiarity to a strange city. This is especially helpful for cities like Mexico City and Tijuana that are still recovering from many years of high crime rates and intensely negative international media coverage. Even if you don't speak the same language as your driver, the app makes it easy for you to direct the driver where to take you since you can punch your destination in on the app. And, most importantly, you don't have to haggle over what it will cost you or know to make sure the meter is running or verify whether the taxi is legitimate. The importance of tourism for Mexico is well-known, and the government should be doing everything it can to ensure that travelers can get around its cities safely and comfortably.

Long-entrenched systems, faced with innovative new approaches, invariably have difficulty responding and adapting to change. But fear-mongering tactics such as blockading ride-share cars or vandalizing cars will not make consumers more sympathetic to the disruption the taxi industry is experiencing. To avoid going the way of the buggy whip, taxi unions around the world should focus on ensuring that they offer a service that has its own set of advantages - whether that is cost or something else.

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