The key difference is that said startups use technology to cut out the middle man in a way that is transparent or even beneficial to the consumer. The cabbie, on the other hand, grumpily tries to pass the inconvenience onto the consumer.
The inconvenience of carrying $40 for cab fare is not worth anywhere near 2.9% of my income, yet if all of a cabbie's customers pay by credit, that's a minimum of 2.9% of his income excluding chargeback fraud.
