Of course, scrolling down the thread just shows that waaay too many HNers live in their own bubble pretending to be Mr. Pink with their mightier-than-thousplaining that justifies their miserliness.
No matter how disruptive moving livery to cashless may have been, the truth remains: Uber's current business model is classic leveraging of unorganized labor in order to take advantage of a race to the bottom among drivers. Of course, this wouldn't be sustainable for a second absent Valley VC's willingness to subsidize this mirage until customers are hooked, regulators are left feckless, and then like clockwork, rates are raised with none for the drivers.
It'd be unethical, absent this sort of business being an accepted part of the marketplace. It's called hospitality, and it is driven by tipping. There's absolutely nothing new or justifiable about the type of thinking on this thread. Pool/Line are down to $2.50 for 15-20 minute rides. If you enjoy bragging about avoiding the social contract inherent in tipping economies, you are no different than Susan Fowler's HR encounters: looking the other way as Kalanick rips off those whose livelihood he actively suppresses.