[pessimizer]

In the 1940s, absolutely. I haven't heard it said out loud except to describe a gypsy cab in my life (not including movies.) I have heard it used to describe the license.

I understand that cab drivers have been called hacks, and that of course the term's origin is more general than its current usage. I hear "hack license" but I never hear "hack" as a verb except to refer to doing it illegally.

edit: or as an anything but something before the word "license." You've heard a legitimate taxi driver called a hack lately?