Ostensibly, almost all taxis in America take cards also - the problem isn't a failure to install readers. (It is true that Uber introduces credit card support in countries where taxis commonly lack it, or where a tourist's plastic is incompatible with directly paying on local systems.)
In the US, though, the problem isn't a shortage of readers. It's partly that instead of drivers swiping cards, there are often car-installed readers in the passenger area, which are a pain to fix when drunk or angry riders break them. But it's largely a tax/overhead scheme, where drivers say their reader is broken so that they can get cash and underreport fares.
In many places they're required to inform passengers in advance when they can't take plastic, but that doesn't mean they actually do so - and the problem was even worse before ubiquitous cell phones enabled "I'll stay here and we'll call the cops". Even with most taxi companies launching their own ride-hail apps, a significant selling point of Uber is avoiding common issues like drivers demanding cash or inflating costs with longer routes.
In the US, though, the problem isn't a shortage of readers. It's partly that instead of drivers swiping cards, there are often car-installed readers in the passenger area, which are a pain to fix when drunk or angry riders break them. But it's largely a tax/overhead scheme, where drivers say their reader is broken so that they can get cash and underreport fares.
In many places they're required to inform passengers in advance when they can't take plastic, but that doesn't mean they actually do so - and the problem was even worse before ubiquitous cell phones enabled "I'll stay here and we'll call the cops". Even with most taxi companies launching their own ride-hail apps, a significant selling point of Uber is avoiding common issues like drivers demanding cash or inflating costs with longer routes.