[achille2]

"He said a lot of the drivers pocket the cash for themselves which is why they demand cash."

Uh. No. Where else would the money go? Cabbies pay everything upfront. They keep all earnings.

The problem here is that both cabbies and customers are in a bad deal. The bulk of the profits go to taxi medallion holders which are typically investors.

[cheald]

It's much easier to not pay taxes on cash income than on credit card income.

Also, cabbies don't pocket the income, the medallion owner pockets the income. If that happens to be the cabbie, great, but frequently, cabbies simply lease the medallion from an investment company. If you're a non-medallion-owning driver, you can increase your hourly rate by requesting and not-reporting cash transactions.