New York City cabs will soon be accepting credit/debit cards, despite vehement opposition from the cabbies over the infrastructure costs they’ll incur.

If the hacks need any extra convincing that this development will end up making them more money in the long term, here it is:

I’ll start taking cabs more often than I do now. My current average is about never, so nowhere to go but up.

By necessity of City dwelling, I always have some cash on hand. But I’m loathe to drop too big a wad of it at once, like in a taxi. I’d rather spend the money electronically, via plastic.

And I’m just the tip of the iceberg. Generation Plastic, aka twentysomethings, are habitual small-ticket credit card users, so you’d better believe they’ll enthusiastically pull out their cards when it comes time to pay the fare.

Plus, there’s the interactive map lookup and news service to keep the riders occupied. What more can you ask for?