The alternative is not supporting a company who doesn't provide a living wage for their workers after they go into debt. They talk about making drivers entrepreneurs? That's just code for "we convinced some suckers to invest in a falling wage". Who do you know who invested in a black car and paid it off driving uber? There are similar stories with medallions, but that's a separate issue with separate solutions.

Lyft may have similar issues, but in cities without real taxi companies (e.g. Sf) there's no real alternative to being a part of this terrible "entrepeneurship". Tipping will put uber back on my phone.