It depends how they company is set up, but what I propose would require buy in from the finance group since it would change the revenue model, the UX group, the localization group, and probably legal for regulatory compliance.

You can trust me on this one, as I've seen this process in the past in this kind of company and from the right vantage point: it stopped at "is it bringing us more revenue within the strategy we outlined for the next X years?".

Uber has all the resources needed to implement this, they don't need to outsource, they don't need to commission studies, they have all they need upfront because it's the same skills and resources that make them money now. If they saw an opportunity they wouldn't have left money on the table.

Oh I'm sure it would cost them more money in the short term. It would probably improve customer satisfaction though. Or driver satisfaction. Both of which would have longer term effects on revenue. So it's a question of whether or not they optimize for those things.