Eurynom0s

Also, I'm assuming you know this, but you can presumably deduct that other $10-$15 (other than the portion you're putting aside to cover your taxes) from your taxes as business expenses.

No, it was Zathras.

Uber got popular in DC while the taxi commission was still blocking Uberx, meaning that DC only had black car service. A big thing that helped Uber was that DC taxi drivers will flaunt the regulations saying that they have to go anywhere in DC and within a certain distance of the city limits and refuse to go to lots of locations, whereas Uber drivers won't grief you about your destination. So people were willing to pay extra to get home (especially at night) without having to deal with the asshole taxi drivers.

[edit]Also, it's nice that you can just have the car come to you in a few minutes. Compare to DC taxi drivers, who apparently don't even care if they get fares--so many fucking times I've had taxis drive right by me despite flailing my arms around in a spot where they HAD to have been able to see me if they were paying even a shred of attention. And I'm a white yuppie, which I point out since "well they're passing you up because you're black" is something that happens here.

Because they know that it doesn't matter how many complaints they rack up with the DC taxi commission because the taxi commission will never actually do anything to them.

In NYC for instance, taxi drivers don't have the best reputation either but they're not universally reviled the way DC taxi drivers are and people generally don't mind using NYC taxis as long as they can afford taxis.

DC taxi drivers DO have the legitimate problem of not being able to pick up street hails in VA or MD (and likewise MD drivers can't take hails in DC or VA, and VA drivers can't take hails in DC or MD), and the three jurisdictions would make everyone's lives easier if they sorted something out. I still don't feel bad for the drivers though, seeing as they'll also refuse to go to a bunch of places within DC proper.

[edit]I'll add this. In my experience the big difference between NYC and DC is that the taxi drivers in NYC can also be assholes, but they'll concede the point if you make it clear that you know what the regulations are. For instance, in NYC taxi drivers often don't want to go out of Manhattan either, but if you get in the car, give a Manhattan address, and then once the meter is on say "oops actually we're going to Brooklyn", they may get pissy about it, but they'll take you to Brooklyn. Whereas in DC, I've heard stories of drivers stopping the car and refusing to move until you get out if you try something similar—DC taxi drivers literally just don't care what the regulations say, which is pretty rich when you consider that "OMG Uber isn't regulated!" is one of their big thrusts for arguing against Uber.

Cool, just as long as you're aware of it.

The big thing is you should be keeping receipts, but if you haven't been, stuff like a credit card statement showing that you went to a car wash, for instance, should cover a lot of it.