Please circulate the following information as widely as
appropriate.
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
(888) 624-3841 (Hotline)
President@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.nagdu.org
High expectations create unlimited potential for the blind!
Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in
the
trunk
By <http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/gail-sullivan> Gail Sullivan
September 10 at 5:06 AM
An advocacy group for the blind is suing the app-based ride-sharing
service
Uber, alleging the company discriminates against passengers with service
dogs.
The federal civil rights suit filed Tuesday by the California chapter of
the
National Federation of the Blind cites instances in California and
elsewhere
when blind Uber customers summoned a car only to be refused a ride once
the
driver saw them with a service dog. In some cases, drivers allegedly
abandoned blind travelers in extreme weather and charged cancellation fees
after denying them rides, the complaint said.
The complaint filed in a Northern California District Court cites one
instance where a California UberX driver put a service dog in the trunk
and
refused to pull over when the blind passenger realized where the animal
was.
On another occasion a passenger was trying to explain that his dog was not
a
pet but a service animal when the driver allegedly cursed at him and
accelerated abruptly, nearly injuring the dog and striking the passenger's
friend, who is also blind, with an open car door.
The group said it's aware of more than 30 times blind customers were
denied
rides in violation of the American with Disabilities Act and California
state law.
As a result, blind passengers are confronting unexpected delays and "face
the degrading experience of being denied a basic service that is available
to all other paying customers," the complaint said.
Services such as Uber are quickly supplanting traditional taxis, a service
blind people rely on due to the limitations of public transportation.
The National Federation of the Blind wants Uber to educate its drivers
about
disability rights and punish the violators in addition to providing a way
for disabled passengers to immediately register complaints when they are
refused rides because of service dogs.
In a statement reported by the
<http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/lawsuit-alleges-uber-discriminates-a
gainst-blind-passengers-with-service-dogs/Content?oid=2895322> San
Francisco
Examiner, Uber said its policy is to terminate drivers who refuse to
transport service animals. "The Uber app is built to expand access to
transportation options for all, including users with visual impairments
and
other disabilities," the statement said.
However, Uber allegedly told some passengers it can't control what drivers
do because they are independent contractors. The company advised them to
let
drivers know about their animals ahead of time, said the Federation, which
filed suit after Uber rejected its request to negotiate a solution.
The group claims the company closely monitors and controls its drivers by
managing payments and services through the app, and by assessing driver
performance based on customer feedback.
In September 2013, California's Public Utilities Commission classified
UberX
as a transportation provider because it functions like a taxi dispatch.
The
commission also said that UberX may not discriminate against the disabled,
the Federation noted.
Figuring out whether to treat Uber like a traditional taxi service or
something else is the subject of heated debate across the country. Taxi
services are
<https://adata.org/publication/disability-law-handbook#Transportation and
the ADA> required by federal law to serve the disabled, even if drivers
are
independent contractors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/10/uber-sued-for-a
llegedly-refusing-rides-to-the-blind-and-putting-a-dog-in-the-trunk/
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