For the fourth largest city in the United States, ...

For the fourth largest city in the United States, Houston has a shockingly bad taxi infrastructure. It's a lottery with these guys - they are apparently just a collection of independent drivers. When you call for a cab it's a crapshoot. If it's a less busy time they're reasonably reliable, but at busy times, they'll show up 15 minutes early (you'd better be ready), late, or, mostly, not at all. If the City of Houston is serious about clamping down on drink driving they need to invest in standing up a half decent taxi service for the city.