Being quiet in a taxi is perfectly normal. Barking orders at them, complaining that they're not going fast enough, treating them as beneath you, etc.: those are rude.

I think the issue isn't if the taxi driver actively likes a guy but more if the person does something so egregious to leave a deeply negative mark (or at least that's how I would use such a report from a taxi driver).

Stress is a reasonable excuse, but it's also reasonable for many jobs to require a minimal level of curtesy even under stress, especially in a highly collaborative environment