To take [0] as an example, the driver was easily arrested. If she had been travelling in a taxi, is it likely she would have memorised the plates?

The use of apps to book rides makes it very easy to trace drivers if anything untoward happens.

Route tracking also makes it easy to reclaim if an indirect route is taken (I have successfully done this with Uber).

Route tracking could of course be implemented with traditional taxis, but at the moment is a reason why ride sharing is considered safer.

> To take [0] as an example, the driver was easily arrested. If she had been travelling in a taxi, is it likely she would have memorised the plates?

It was a he who got robbed by a she and it could only happen because he got drugged by the water she offered and then abused his trust-advance, towards ridesharing drivers, by asking to use his toilet.

Her getting caught on his surveillance cam, leaving the house only two hours later, probably did more leading to her arrest than her being an Uber driver instead of a Cab driver because the victim didn't remember a whole lot of anything after having been drugged.

> The use of apps to book rides makes it very easy to trace drivers if anything untoward happens.

Afaik taxis also keep logs about where they go, tho that might depend on the country we are talking about, just like the background check practices of any given ridesharing service.

But I don't see why regular taxi services couldn't do the background check that Uber supposedly does.

Tho I agree with your last two points, I still think the only real difference here is that criminals and scammers haven't fully adapted to these ridesharing services yet, but the potential is there none the less.