[Colorado-Talk] Help to Fight Discrimination Against the Blind and Other People with Disabilities by Uber and Lyft

[Curtis Chong]

Greetings everyone:

 

HB26-1043 <http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1043>  has been introduced by
Representative Gretchen Rydin  and will be brought before the House Business
Affairs and Labor Committee
<http://leg.colorado.gov/committees/2026A/house/BusinessAffairsLabor>  at
its meeting to be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, in House
Conference Room (HCR) 0112.

 

HB26-1043 requires companies like Uber and Lyft to incorporate a
discriminatory complaint mechanism into their respective apps, requires
these companies to file monthly reports regarding discriminatory ride
refusals by drivers with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and
increases the penalty that can be charged against Uber and Lyft from $550 to
$5,000.

 

Members of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee need to hear our
stories of ride denials by Uber and/or Lyft drivers because we were blind
and using a guide dog or white cane. Blind people need to pack the hearing
room to show their support for HB26-1043. You can come to the hearing to
show your support, whether you plan to testify or not. If you plan to
testify, you may do so in person or virtually, but you must sign up in
advance. Whether you choose to testify at the hearing in person, remotely,
or in writing, you need to register by sending your browser to
https://sites.coleg.gov/public-testimony/sign-up-to-testify/step-1. Type
HB26-1043 in the search box and activate the Search button. Further down the
page, a link to Select HB26-1043 will appear which you should activate.

If you plan to testify, your testimony will be limited to 3 minutes; the
chair of the committee has the privilege of shortening testimony to two
minutes if there are a lot of people signed up. So, prepare your words in
advance and make your point directly. If you have a story of a ride denial,
give the committee the TikTok version.

 

In addition to attending the February 19 hearing in person or virtually, all
of us can and should send emails to our state representatives and senators.
The easiest way to find your state representative and senator is to visit
the Find My Legislator page, found at
http://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator. Feel free to email me directly
at chong.curtis at gmail.com <mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>  if you have any
trouble with the links provided in this email.

 

In crafting your email, you do not need to  write a lengthy dissertation.
Your message should be short and to the point. All you need to say is this:

 

"Please vote to pass HB26-1043 so that the blind and other folks with
disabilities will have a better chance to report ride refusals by rideshare
drivers who, too often, refuse transportation to someone simply because they
use a guide dog or carry a white cane. These ride denials happen far too
often, and it is high time that the Public Utilities Commission receive
timely and accurate reports from the industry to address this issue."

 

Also, if you are a blind person who has been denied transportation by Uber
and/or Lyft simply because you use a cane or guide dog, feel free to tell
your own personal story.

 

Kind regards,

 

Curtis Chong

 

 

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