Article leaves out important point: they raised their commission from 5% back to 20% at the same time as the implementation of the $1 safe fee [1]. (They had dropped their commission to 5% in January with the price drop [2].)
This is a pretty big bet on their part that they've locked drivers into the Uber platform through enough volume/earnings.
[1] http://www.lyft.me/help?article=1263247