[nagdu] Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blindandputting a dog in the trunk

Thu Sep 11 21:03:31 UTC 2014

Actually, I have had a few folks whom I've shown my ID and they relented. 
Also they will look at my school tag.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Weiner via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'Abigail Bolling'" <violingirl30794 at gmail.com>; "'NAGDU Mailing 
List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the 
blindandputting a dog in the trunk


> Respectfully disagreeing, no one who has given me a hard time about access
> ever cared whether I had an id card or not.
>
> If people want to be jerks, they do so without any conscience.
>
> Dan  Weiner'
>
> dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
>
>
> -----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
> andputting 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.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/violingirl30794%40g
>> mail.com
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/dcwein%40dcwein.cnc.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/lkeeler%40comcast.net