I still disagree, I think their explosion is the result of other factors. Medium-sized cities still had taxi cab services but they were more expensive and less used. Uber and Lyft had massive capital backing to essentially invade these cities with lower cost rides. Once that honey-moon is over (it's over in NY for sure) customers will be in the exact same place. Another factor is that there is more leisure money moving around in the middle class as opposed to before. To attribute Uber/Lyft to the cause of the culture change is just way off base.
I dunno, it shifted overnight in my life. People I knew in Seattle went from not using cabs ever to taking Uber and Lyft constantly in the course of a couple of months. Cabs were such a miserable experience that it just wasn't part of going out. They were reserved for emergencies or for getting to the airport.
As soon as apps existed, "calling an uber" became a thing within a few months -- for getting to and from restaurants and bars; for getting to work when you're late, etc.
