It's typical "bait and switch" and that's why it simply doesn't work out in the long run...
A company starts a web site and sets pricing on their service at a very low rate, while subsidizing it's financial loss with investment money at a loss. The company gradually increases costs and pricing over time for suppliers, employees, and on users until it finds a sweet spot in hopes that no one will notice, while also protecting itself carefully with PR and legal moves and careful management of overhead costs for operations... Most often the company manages minimal customer support, insurance, lawyers, a web site, marketing teams, and an office of public affairs, and that's the primary focus.
Often times, ownership frequently funnels profit out through selling shares, and though executive pay, until eventually the company succeeds or fails miserably.
These are not commendable business ventures like the press would have you believe, they're time sharing schemes that victimize almost everyone who invests in them, and they undermine vital services that would normally be regulated like the taxi cab industry, which was doing quite well before Uber came in and scorched it to ashes.
Many cities gave ride share companies huge subsidies and concessions to operate, few of which benefits they've passed on to drivers and riders, and surge pricing is about as scandalous and opportunistic as monopolizing a river then selling the water to the villages it used to lead to. I wouldn't be surprised if these companies are also pushing campaigns and lobbies against individual car ownership as well through employees, and brigading in places like reddit, because that only furthers their death grip on monopoly status.
The corporate world is wildly toxic these days, I'm skeptical of everything companies tell me because everyone is opportunistically dictating prices and terms, and they've abandoned customer service and all of the principles the present at orientation behind the scenes.