The difference is that Uber wasn't a taxi because they didn't (and still don't) accept street hails. The question around Uber was whether the laws would be cha

The difference is that Uber wasn't a taxi because they didn't (and still don't) accept street hails. The question around Uber was whether the laws would be changed to make them a taxi, which after much lobbying they weren't, but they were already fine under the existing laws. As kenbaylor says below, Uber themselves thought the laws would quickly be changed to make their business illegal, so they didn't even get into that market until Lyft forced them to do so.