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Using the UK, as an example, there are two very distinct types of taxis: 1. Those hailed on the street or found waiting at a taxi stand/rank. These are metered

Using the UK, as an example, there are two very distinct types of taxis: 1. Those hailed on the street or found waiting at a taxi stand/rank. These are metered services. They drive you somewhere and you pay the amount shown on the meter. In London, and some other parts of the UK, these are known as Black Cabs (because the vehicles have traditionally been painted black). 2. Pre-booked services. Essentially a passenger phones to make a booking, informs the service of the pick-up address and destination, agrees a price, then waits for the taxi to arrive. These are known as Mini Cabs. Both these services are licensed and regulated in the UK. Uber very clearly falls into the second category. They're just a Mini Cab firm with a fancy app.

alkonaut 9y ago
So the term "Mini Cabs" are a result of confusing arising from weird local regulations in UK cities. The same as people think its normal that in NYC you can get a "Black car" which is different from a (Yellow) taxi. But again: all these terms are just effects of the madness that is a local monopoly on one type of ride service (typically, but not always, the one that can use taxi stands and be hailed without pre booking on the street). This has made people associate "taxi" or "cab" with just that one type of ride service, in their city. Which is understandable - but it makes no sense when discussing laws across a continent, or worldwide. "Taxi" has a very simple definition: it's a vehicle for hire with a driver. An Uber is a taxi service even if it's not (yet) allowed to perform the same services as a yellow cab in new york, or a london taxi