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

[Star Gazer]

			Yup, because going along to get along always ends
well. 
I highly suggest you read the book In The Garden Of Beasts, about the
American ambassador to Germany in 1933. It demonstrates very well the
creeping requirements inposed on everybody the NAZIS didn't like. Excellent
book, even if you still come away from it thinking nothing's wrong with
making things easy... for others. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Abigail Bolling
via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 11:34 AM
To: Ginger Kutsch; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and
putting a dog in the trunk

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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