NEW YORK, NY Oct. 19 (DPI) – One of The New York Times’s editorial page editors declared that the “mythology of ride-sharing is falling apart,” and went on to excoriate Uber and Lyft for a litany of what he called broken promises.

And while many readers commenting on Greg Bensinger’s weekend column heaped somewhat predictable scorn on ride-hailing services, a surprising number – especially those who said they live in NYC – came out in full-throated support of the sharing-economy industry.

Bensinger’s column criticized the services for their environmental record, for allegedly short-changing drivers, and for skirting city and state regulations, among other failings.

Some of the reader defenses of Uber and Lyft were rated most popular:

It’s easy to poke holes in Uber’s grand aspirations (self-driving, ending personal car ownership), but the fact is that Uber succeeded by doing what taxicabs did, only much better. New Yorkers remember how it was impossible to hail a cab in many neighborhoods, or at certain times of the day and night, or to many destinations. Uber’s dispatching solved those problems. We saw how much cleaner and more comfortable Uber cars are than taxis, and how much more polite the drivers are when they’re being rated on the app. We felt safer when the driver’s identity was on record and we didn’t have to take out our wallet to pay. We saw taxi lines shrink at airports and train stations. Taxis in New York were an often unpleasant, inconvenient, unreliable, and expensive necessity, and Uber gave us an option that really improved our safety, mobility, and quality of life. All this dyspeptic nonsense is just sour grapes from people who think they deserve to be consulted before anyone can make changes for the better.

Ride sharing offers an important alternative to users who either can’t afford to own a car or chose not to own one. As cities eliminate parking space requirements in new developments as well as public parking spaces in crowded areas, ride sharing makes getting dropped off much easier. Many drivers make extra income driving part-time to supplement their regular income because the program allows them to drive when it fits their schedule. In many cities (i.e., Phoenix), cabs are difficult to find and not well-maintained. Finally, ride sharing serves a huge market that prefers to drink and not drive, making our roads safer for everyone. Eventually pricing will sort itself out as drivers decide opt in or out.

Please stop calling it “sharing.” If money changes hands as a condition, it’s a car service.