Those aren't unreasonable demands of someone wanting to carry passengers for hire. They are checks that pretty much the entire Western world has come up with after numerous problems with unsafe, uninsured and unsavoury taxi drivers.
The problem is not that these are unreasonable demands, but that the entrenched taxi companies protect their monopolies with extremely onerous or even impossible licensing processes with the help of the government. It should be quick, easy, and inexpensive for anyone with a vehicle who wants to make some extra money via this type of service to show that they have insurance, a valid driver's license and a safety inspection any service station can do in 30 minutes. The overal state of the economy and people needing to make some income by being creative with things they already have (like a car) should be more important to society than protecting the local established taxi monopoly.