I've had the feeling that Alphabet has been using Lyft as a cat's paw in its war with Uber. Given its buckets of cash and what Alphabet perceives as the opportunity to dominate the next big market, can't Lyft expect almost unlimited funding? Or even an acquisition once its independence is not an asset?

Definitely this. It takes a lot of effort to burn through as much cash as Uber is and moving the needle in Lyft's favor requires a lot less effort, which is where things get dangerous for Uber.