I'm not sure thats right. Taxi drivers used to be paid mainly in cash, and a driver sitting on a pile of cash is a robbery target. Uber arrived shortly after ecommerce became pervasive; I've never taken an Uber ride, but I'm assuming that payment is nearly always electronic.
So basically Uber, not general progress, was what changed things to electronic payments etc.
Before any wise guys come in here and claim that you could order cabs to a location by phone before uber, I would like to point out that they frequently failed to arrive and you had no way of knowing whether or not they would arrive until you gave up waiting for them, so while you could theoretically do this is was terribly unreliable and often a big mistake.
Doesn't your point support the quote? Taxi driving was dangerous because of cash and being a robbery target, and Uber changed that.
100% always, but I've heard that cash tips are becoming common.
In the ancient days, sure. But at least in the areas I go to, cabs have been accepting payment by card a long time before Uber came around.
I'm glad Uber fucked them to shreds. Now, of course, they're all polite and have credit card machines.