Local knowledge test is a good example. It's not needed with GPS. Furthermore Uber allow for throwing out the bad drivers and it wont clog up anything as it has a much better ability to cater for demand.
What you find here is that Uber drivers are often also Taxi drivers for the smaller taxi companies, an Uber call comes in and they put their signage in their boot, in between Uber jobs they put the signage back on and sit at a taxi stand.
Local knowledge is important though, roads change more frequently than maps are updated, and here at least a lot of street names and suburbs are not in English - someone who is not from the city would struggle to enter in the names of streets and suburbs and might end up on the other side of town before they know it.
I have never had any problems finding my way around italy with a GPS and I have been there a lot and it's been a while. I can only imagine that the GPS apps are getting even better.
Local knowledge is important though, roads change more frequently than maps are updated, and here at least a lot of street names and suburbs are not in English - someone who is not from the city would struggle to enter in the names of streets and suburbs and might end up on the other side of town before they know it.