>> are taxi drivers now also employees? Many of them (that do not own their own car) are ICs too.

I spent a few months as a dispatcher in a taxi shop, and drivers weren't ICs, they were more like part of a b2b transaction. They rented the car and medallion from us for a flat rate for 12 hours, and could pick up whomever they wanted off the streets. When we got calls to arrange pickups, I went down the list contacting drivers until someone would take the fare. We only made money from renting the taxis to drivers.