To address one of your points, the driver can't start the ride until you're in the car. So you're costing them money by making them wait a minute or two. Was

To address one of your points, the driver can't start the ride until you're in the car. So you're costing them money by making them wait a minute or two. Was this always the case? Sure. But when ETAs were longer and drivers generally had more downtime, they were paid more per minute of actual driving. So this wasn't as painful. If you want, you could try texting the driver saying "Hi, I'll be down in a minute, feel free to start the meter!" They might appreciate that, but it might also be against policy.