I think this misses the point: neither Lyft nor Uber ever intended to have human drivers long-term. From the outset, human drivers were only temporarily needed

I think this misses the point: neither Lyft nor Uber ever intended to have human drivers long-term. From the outset, human drivers were only temporarily needed to establish the business until such time as driving could be fully automated. Once self-driving cars exist, the ride-hailing companies will replace all of the people per the original plan.