Uber drivers aren't strictly speaking taxi drivers, in that they don't actively drive around looking for fares but instead wait for users to contact them via ap

Uber drivers aren't strictly speaking taxi drivers, in that they don't actively drive around looking for fares but instead wait for users to contact them via app - in other words, they're pull-based and not push-based. Medallions were a response to the push-based taxi market, which was 100% necessary as smartphones didn't exist in the 1930s.