That article was pretty much only comprised of anecdotes about drivers being upset about something... They even directly say "hard numbers on tech riders were n

That article was pretty much only comprised of anecdotes about drivers being upset about something... They even directly say "hard numbers on tech riders were not available." I want to see the actual data and how Uber, or Lyft came out after NYE. Wasn't the algorithm supposed to help stabilize the supply of Uber cars on the road? I doubt it is designed simply to gouge people when demand is high. It kind of sounds to me like the media pumped up this idea of "OMG look at how screwed these few people were by surge prices!" Then Uber responded to the critics by issuing warnings about high surge prices on NYE. This further solidified this idea that the price would always shoot up on big nights no matter what. So now you have everyone who's ever driven for Uber, plus a bunch of newcomers all going out driving thinking they are all going to be cashing in on $200 fares. Supply goes up, surge goes down. Or maybe surge doesn't go all the way down. Uber would have no reason to make the primary function of their algorithm to make drivers more money, or stabilize driver income. They are trying to increase market share and make money. Maybe they think the NYE demand is very inflexible and thus they can restrict the surge pricing to stay above a certain level and not have much of an effect on demand. This would, however, probably only exacerbate the initial problem with oversupply, as more drivers would see surge pricing in effect and start earlier, and stay out later. There isn't even any anecdotal evidence in the article about the passenger side of the experience, they only have stuff from Lyft/Uber drivers. People act like Uber/Lyft should be nice to the drivers and treat them well, when in reality they are clients, not prized employees. Uber's relationship with the drivers is a business relationship that is very carefully maintained and fine tuned. If you showed me a similar company that treated drivers very well and was still able to keep prices from exploding, I would gladly use that service over the current players, but it just seems to me that they are doing what makes sense given the current marketplace. Isn't it supposed to be a lot easier gig to be an Uber driver than a city cab driver?