> I think this is silly because, to my knowledge, everyone taking an Uber is paying for the transportation and not any particular route. I.e. being taken on a specific route isn't what the rider is agreeing to pay for. Also, as noted in (3), the rider is always free to change the route.

Doesn't that imply that the passenger shouldn't be charged based on the _estimate_ (tour point #1)? This article makes it sound like they are being charged for the estimate, rather than actual drive time