The first and easiest way to avoid Uber surge pricing is to not use Uber. By now, surely Everyone that uses Uber has heard of Lyft. Lyft, in case You live under a rock is the main competition to Uber and is in almost every market that has Uber. If You prefer Uber (I am not sure why) You only need to have Lyft has Your back up plan. Download the Lyft app to Your smart phone and use the promo code william717469 to get your first ride free. The chances of both Uber and Lyft having surge at the same time are remote but even if they do, You can still beat the surge pricing.
Wait. Keep checking every few minutes, the surge rarely last long because drivers see that it is in surge and a bunch of drivers login and the surge goes away. Yes, it might cycle over and over but all You need to do is request Your ride out of surge and Your trip is locked in.
If You are at a concert or a football game, You might be stuck with surge but make that surge trip short, very short. Pick a mall, Mcdonalds, bus station, train station or anything that has major traffic but is a few miles from where You are at the time, ask the driver to drop You there. At this point You can be honest with Your driver and tell Him/Her that You are going to restart a new trip with another driver out of surge but If He/She wants to be that driver then all You need to do is end the first trip and request another one and off You go out of surge. Let Your driver know that You will tip or go ahead and give them the tip. A very good reason to use Lyft is You can tip through the app so there is no need to have cash. If You use Uber, You should tip every time so carry cash or stay home.