Uber tested this out years ago when they first launched. In my city they offered ride passes that had a flat fare (of less than $5 per trip, within some threshold...I think it was within 20 miles). Then when they expanded they slowly raised the price of the flat fare before getting rid of it altogether.
In short, yes, we are generally conditioned to rely on these services.
Uber wants you to make decisions like choosing to live in a home away from public transportation because you know you can use Uber instead of the train. Once you've made that decision, your ability to walk Uber out of your life goes out the door, and you pretty much have to accept any changes that they make to the pricing.
In the US anti-trust is absurdly focused on whether there is costs in the form of high prices passed onto the consumer.
They didn't say unprofitable companies shouldn't exist, but there's certainly a case to be made that large companies swooping into a market, reducing their prices to squash competition and then raising prices is not good for consumers, and there's governments that make this practice illegal. Intent matters.
I bike a lot more though which is good.