Maybe I am a little biased because I just moved here from Phily, where I could step out of my apartment and immediately hail a cab. I knew it would be slightly different in Pittsburgh because of how the neighborhoods are spread out, but I never thought it would be this bad.
Of course, I have only tried for cabs during peak weekend hours, 9pm-2am. That's when most people need cabs, so that is when you should have the most to dispatch! If you call for a cab...I should say...if you call and can actually get through to a dispatcher...expect to wait a LONG time. The later you call, the longer it will take. We waited 2 hours the one night, and received a notification that there probably wouldn't be a cab that could get us anytime soon. Our friends gave up and just ended up walking home. I woke up the next morning to find a bunch of missed calls from a driver who arrived at our house at least another hour after I had fallen asleep.
No wonder Yellow Cab is complaining about Lyft! Last time I called Lyft, there was someone at my house in UNDER 5 MINUTES. I am not even exaggerating. Lyft is more reasonably priced and much more convenient!