People who work for ride-sharing companies are employees because their only way to make money is by making money for the company.<p>Taxi companies frequently use the independent contractor model for their businesses. All of the larger taxi companies in Phoenix lease their cab out for a flat rate, and they don&#x27;t care if the driver uses the vehicle to work the company&#x27;s fares. All the old taxi drivers that I know have private clients - customers who call them directly for transportation.<p>Uber-X drivers can&#x27;t legally build up a private clientele unless they also have commercial insurance and have paid the state&#x27;s fee for vehicles-for-hire. But that doesn&#x27;t mean they don&#x27;t give out cards anyways