I do not understand the sensationalism. I think there would be reason to be upset if Uber decided to enforce a system where if you drive less than $x per week then y% of your nominal rate is cut. However, this is a incentivizing system, not a coercing system. In other words instead of punishing those that do not drive as much, it's rewarding those that do.
It's effectively the equivalent of a loyalty card availability in industries of all sorts. You pay $xxx for a card to get a y% reduction on transactions through a certain time period. If you engage in a high volume of transactions, it's +EV and you purchase it. If you don't then it's not +EV and so you don't purchase it. The industry operator profits in either case since their margins exceed the real value of your discount, and so it is win-win for them.
It's effectively the equivalent of a loyalty card availability in industries of all sorts. You pay $xxx for a card to get a y% reduction on transactions through a certain time period. If you engage in a high volume of transactions, it's +EV and you purchase it. If you don't then it's not +EV and so you don't purchase it. The industry operator profits in either case since their margins exceed the real value of your discount, and so it is win-win for them.