"The ride-sharing industry has long been seen as a zero-sum game because of the “network effect”"

I am not sure how true this is, both drivers and riders will always follow the money, and there is not a lot you can do on the experience side that can't be replicated by competitors. This will never be a zero sum game at scale.

When Uber & Lyft moved out of Austin, drivers rallied to make a quick network. In India, drivers already have their closed networks, and many work for both Uber & it's competitor Ola, which just goes to show there is no driver lock-in.