Just one out of five rider complaints about surly, reckless and cheating Boston cabdrivers resulted in a refund or disciplinary action, according to a Herald review of the nearly 3,000 filed over the past 18 months that calls into question taxi industry claims that regulations put them at an unfair disadvantage against growing ride-sharing services like Uber.

The review found complaint investigations by Boston police almost always end up favoring drivers. Of 2,882 customer complaints, only 45 resulted in a fare refund, and 90 in a hackney license suspension, mostly for one or two days. In 265 cases, drivers got off with a warning.

Boston Herald Special Report: Cabs in the City

Among the bulk of the remaining cases, 616 were tossed because the complaints didn’t provide enough information or were deemed “unfounded,” meaning they couldn’t be proved or disproved.

Boston cab drivers drew a higher rate of complaints than their counterparts in Baltimore and even New York City. Boston’s 1,862 licensed taxis drew 2,097 complaints last year, compared with 241 for Baltimore’s 1,151 taxis, and New York City’s 14,542 complaints for the city’s 13,637 taxis.

Lt. Thomas Lema, recently appointed head of the 11-officer hackney division, said he will hold cabbies to a higher standard according to rules that require them to “treat customers in a professional, respectful and courteous manner.”

But Lema acknowledges his division isn’t looking to take already scarce cabs off the street. “I’m not out here to hurt a cabdriver, to suspend him for five days. They’re all trying to put food on their plate. … But at the end of the day, you have to follow the law.”

The Herald review found “conduct” is the most common gripe cited by riders, followed by overcharging, reckless driving, taking a long route and refusing credit cards.

Claudia Patton of Fenway relies on cabs to get to her job at a laundromat and beefed to police last month about a driver running up a meter while waiting for her to come out of her house.

“I think the main problem, honestly, is customer service,” Patton said. “They don’t know how to talk to people. I’ve had instances where I just asked them, ‘Can you take me to the check casher, and then after that drop me to the grocery store?’ They’ll yell at you: ‘No, no, I’m not making two stops.’ They’re very quick to yell.”

The frustration reflected in the rider complaints is central to the foothold Uber has been able to establish in Boston and other cities. The cellphone app allows riders to publicly rate drivers, giving them a feeling of control over the service they get.

“I think we’ve all taken cabs, and the experience isn’t very pleasing,” Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett said. “They don’t smell all that great, there aren’t the luxuries of knowing who’s coming and where they’re coming from, you still have to carry cash in some cases. It’s not seamless. Technology is changing, yet the taxi industry refuses to. I think consumers recognize that.”

The review comes as Uber announced it will temporarily offer cheaper fares than yellow cabs in New York City. The car service also agreed to limit prices in emergencies to comport with the city’s price gouging law.

Boston cabbies complain that Uber is insulated from the daily ordeals they face because the service’s drivers can rate passengers and read their colleagues’ ratings before opting to pick someone up, said Dave Sutton, spokesman for Who’s Driving You? — an anti-Uber campaign funded by the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association.

“It’s discrimination in very subtle forms, against all different types of people — elderly people who would require assistance, people who use wheelchairs,” Sutton said of Uber. “You’re picking the ones that you want, and so when you do show up, you’re full of good cheer.”

Under city regulations, cabdrivers can’t refuse fares unless there is a “justifiable fear for the driver’s personal safety” or “the passenger is incapacitated.”

Mayor Martin J. Walsh has convened a task force to study taxi reforms, including expanding the number of medallions, regulating Uber and removing taxi regulation from the police.

“We have to really see where does this belong, and how can we do a real good job of coming up with a system that works for people,” Walsh told the Herald recently. “I’m not going to discourage any mode of transportation here.”

The Boston Taxi Drivers Association — which calls Uber illegal and in May protested outside the company’s Hub offices — says poor customer experience is tied to a medallion leasing system that puts drivers in the red before they even turn the ignition key.

Arthur Rose, a 40-year Boston cabbie and drivers’ rep for the union, said drivers are short with customers because they’re focused on making up lease payments to medallion owners, which typically run $100 for a ?12-hour shift, cash-only.

“The key to solving the taxi industry is end taxi leasing, go back to the way it was, when the owner of the cab got 60 percent of what was on the meter and the driver got 40,” Rose said. “All of a sudden, customer service will matter to them, because that’s their money.”