The fact is, given most Uber drivers drive illegally (no commercial insurance) and they don't really account for costs like brakes, tires, depreciation etc...well, they make garbage money.

Uber is already crashing hard. Many of their high level employees are either gone or appear to by nutjobs. They lose vast sums of money every year. The more fares they get, the more they lose in total money every quarter.

There are several ways Uber could fall apart at any moment, and drivers quitting en masses was one of them. This is just another way for Uber to attempt to pay their drivers less (or rather, avoid paying them more) by pushing the cost onto the customer (like wait staff making $2.15 at restaurants). This may backfire, as I have found Uber users to really like the lack of tip-shaming.