It's highly dependent on the market. I rarely see surge where I live (Seattle), but I was in a different city a few weeks ago and only saw surge pricing the whole time I was there.
Right. Uber understands you don't have alternatives in that city, you don't know the city, don't have your car, and you need transit. You're in tourist-mode, so you're going to get tourist pricing. Otherwise Uber is leaving money on the table.
... Or they just don't have a lot of drivers in some markets.
Do you have any evidence that surge pricing is individualized?
another data point: I live in Seattle, too, and see surge all the time.