Even if this were patentable, it strikes me as a bad idea to be the company that patents it.
Surge Pricing is already one of the most hated features of Uber. Even if that hatred is unfair, there is definitely going to be more pushback as Uber's business grows. When local governments and consumer groups inevitably start trying to sue them for "gouging," wouldn't it be better to have "common industry practice" as a defense, rather than being the only company that is doing it?

This would be part of my strategy. For the last couple of years, Jobs has been announcing amazing new developments at every public address. The expectations build. The rumor mills churn. The stocks inflate.

Then one of two things happens. Either the announcement is completely beyond what anyone expected, and stocks boom, or the announcement simply meets expectations...and the stocks plummet.

Jobs needs huge, unexpected extravaganzas to keep things booming, but he doesn't have enough of them for every conference. So what does he do? He gradually lowers our expectations by announcing mundane but arguably important developments. The iPod HiFi. The updated Mac Mini. The Intel Mac Pro. Enhancements in Leopard.

Then, when our guard is down... BAM! Out comes the iPhone, or the touchless iPod, or the iWatchEverythingFromMyCouch media center. The impact will be greater when we're no longer expecting it.