Disclaimer: Used to work at a ride-sharing company.

It actually benefits the drivers to have Uber set prices. Uber's revenue is a percentage of drivers' earnings, so prices that maximizes driver revenue maximizes Uber's revenue. It's very easy for individuals to set prices in-optimally which means they either lose out on surplus (priced too low) or can't find riders (priced too high).

To me, the most important aspects of independent work is to set one's own schedules, hours per week (0 for as long as I'd like), and not bound to work for any single company. Though I might be biased because of the disclaimer.

edit: grammar fixes