[throwaway201103]

There are taxi owner/operators, but since the owner cannot drive 24/7, and since the cost of a medallion is more than one can afford by working only 8 hours a day, most (all?) of them sublease their cars to several drivers in shifts. That way the car and medallion can be producing income around the clock. Those subcontracted drivers are not employees of the taxi company, they might be considered employees of the car/medallion owner but if they work for several different owners, maybe they are considered independent.