Help me stop these jerks. Uber exec Emil Michael was apparently so high on his own delusions of grandeur, he told a BuzzFeed editor that he wanted to hire researchers to perform Nixonian dirty tricks on journalists he didn't like.

Specifically, he wanted to "prove a particular and very specific claim about [the] personal life" of a journalist the company's executives find annoying. Obviously, he's spent the past day frantically backpedaling that howler, but the cat's out of the bag. Whatever you think of journalists, companies shouldn't be doing that to anyone.

This kind of attitude isn't new for Uber, and I've probably waited too long to delete the app. The journalist in question, Sarah Lacy, has been chronicling the company's misogynistic culture for some time now. CNN revealed that Uber employees were using fake accounts to order and cancel rides with rival service Lyft. The Verge showed how the company was having its employees try to recruit Lyft drivers by ordering rides under false pretenses. Uber is also "pushing drivers into subprime auto loans," Valleywag says. And if drivers complain, they can get deactivated.

I'm not even going to get into the stuff about surge pricing (which Uber has been doing a better job of making obvious) and Uber's refusal to accept responsibility when its drivers do bad things.

Drivers Agree: It's a Trap!
Uber's general jerkiness doesn't seem to have helped its main rival, Lyft, even though it sounds like Lyft could be better for riders and drivers. Recently, I've been asking Uber and Lyft drivers about the difference between the two services. (In New York City, many drivers work for Uber, Lyft, and a third, local car service as well.)

One driver told me that if he could ditch Uber and just drive for Lyft, he would - but he can't make a living without Uber, because "that's where the rides are." Both this discussion between drivers and the overall stats agree: while drivers would love to have more options, Uber is just killing its more ethical rival. It has so much inertia, so many installs and such good marketing that it appears unstoppable.

Here, your actions can actually make a difference. If you delete Uber and install Lyft - or, heck, even start calling your local car service again - you send a message that being a bad person - and make no mistake, these are bad people - actually has consequences.

(I know for a lot of you, calling the local taxi service isn't really an option because of slow response times or a reputation for poor-quality service. We're lucky in NYC, which has a rich array of transportation services.)

We Need Taxi Apps, Just Not Taxi Assholes

Uber and Lyft are responding to real needs from both riders and drivers. Most cities' taxi commissions were long ago captured by fleet owners' interests, with expensive, limited medallions (costing up to $1 million in New York City) turning drivers into virtual serfs and leaving riders in some cities waiting far too long for their cabs. 

As Felix Salmon points out on Medium, the taxi apps are also more efficient for drivers than traditional dispatching and cruising, letting drivers spend more time with passengers in their cars (and thus, more time making money.)

The services' strict car-quality standards and GPS requirements are a huge positive change for riders. I've had too many New York "green cabs" with ripped seats or whose drivers don't know how to get around Queens. That hasn't been the case with my app-powered rides.

Competition is working. It just needs to work better. If riders swing towards Lyft, that will pressure Uber to jettison or reform some of its more awful people and policies. We'll end up having better choices all around.

So delete Uber. Click on Lyft, or call your local cab service. Let's see if we can make a change, and leave Emil Michael and his sleazy compadres by the side of the road.