[nagdu] Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in the trunk

[Aaron Cannon]

Hi Abby.

Others have talked about how showing ID could inconvenience owner
trainers, but I would submit that it could affect every dog user.
What about the person who forgets/has their ID chewed up by their dog?
 What if word gets around, and IDs start being requested at every
business, or by every driver?  I think I'd rather handle the small
headache in order to avoid the much larger one.

Aaron

On 9/11/14, Abigail Bolling via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> The problem of explaining  that the dog is a service animal, I know this may
> sound harsh, but as far as I know, the service animal schools give there
> handlers ID cards for a reason. A lot of Dog users that I know refuse to
> carry them, to which my opinion is a lot of situations could possibly be
> avoided just by showing an ID card.
> I know we shouldn't have to show an ID card to make our point and it is
> certainly annoying, but sometimes it is just easier to go that extra stupid
> step to save a little headache later.
> Also, I know I said this on another post about this article, but it is the
> responsibility of the handler to know where their dog is at all times, so
> why did the handler let the dog be taken away from him and placed in the
> trunk in the first place.
> Thanks,
>
> Abby and my little Shadow, Jada.
>
> Abigail Bolling
> Wright State University: Social Work
>
> "Keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart, and just let the music
> play." (Julie Anderson Diamond)
>
>> On Sep 11, 2014, at 8:33 AM, Ginger Kutsch via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in
>> the
>> trunk
>>
>> By Gail Sullivan September 10 Washington Post
>>
>> Source:
>> 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/
>>
>>
>>
>> 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 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 required by federal law to serve the disabled, even if
>> drivers
>> are independent contractors.
>>
>>
>>
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