People driving taxis and Ubers certainly do have reason to be vetted at a higher standard than regular drivers, since for the most part they're spending much mo

People driving taxis and Ubers certainly do have reason to be vetted at a higher standard than regular drivers, since for the most part they're spending much more time driving than anyone else; this leads to a much higher risk-per-driver if one is unsafe. This is comparable to how there are special licensing requirements, above and beyond the typical driver's license, in order to drive a truck or a bus (and, IIRC, even higher requirements to drive a schoolbus.)