[nagdu] Washington Post: Uber sued for allegedly refusingridestothe blind and putting a dog in the trunk

Fri Sep 12 12:53:49 UTC 2014

Wow I have never had any problems with either service, I agree that something needs to be done. I also want to note that the driver must except the ride first when you requested. If the driver has pulled away, and you request another ride, he should not accept it. If he does, that's just ignorance on his part. As far as identifying yourself as having a service animal, I do not agree. In my opinion, that makes it more difficult for those of us who do not want to identify ourselves as having a service dog before the driver pulls up. If all of us choose not to disclose this fact, then we can act accordingly when a driver refuses to take us. This will make it easier on the next person.

Aleeha Dudley and seeing eye dog Dallas 
Vice President, Ohio Association of blind students
Blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
"The wind of Heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." Arabian proverb 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 12, 2014, at 4:44 AM, Raven Tolliver via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> This just happened to me this past Saturday. Fortunately, I had the
> option of taking a bus, but I chose to request a Uber because the
> buses were only running once an hour at the time of day. So I request
> a Uber, and the guy is 3 minutes away. I'm on the phone with him,
> telling him where I am because I'm not at a physical address. He pulls
> up, sees the dog, apologizes and pulls off. Okay, so I gotta go wait
> for a bus. The biggest pain in the butt with an ap like this is that,
> unlike a taxi, you can't request another ride, because the one you're
> going to get is the same person that just left you stranded.
> Fortunately, I did not get charged for a ride that never happened. And
> the same as with Nicole's mentioned Taxi Magic, you can only rate and
> comment on drivers after your ride.
> I love Uber. Every other driver I've had was incredibly nice. But
> something has to change. This is a service provided to the public, so
> they need to pull up their drawers, own up, and realize that they must
> accommodate people with service dogs as such.
> 
>> On 9/12/14, Dan Weiner via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Well you know the problem with specifying that you have a guide dog is
>> this"
>> Honestly when I've done it I still get drivers who have issues--smile.
>> Not always of course, but it has happened several times when I would say
>> that I'm blind and have a service dog or guide dog that then the driver
>> would come and act like a numbskull and claim whatever excuse:
>> Allergies, fear of dogs, or ""I don't take dogs".
>> 
>> 
>> So I suppose what has to happen is that penalties need to be beefed up and
>> they have to be laws with real clout, I mean readily enforceable.
>> 
>> Dan W.
>> 
>> dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nicole Torcolini
>> via nagdu
>> Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 12:24 AM
>> To: 'debby phillips'; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide
>> Dog Users'; 'Marion Gwizdala'; nyagdu at nfbnet.org; njagdu at nfbnet.org;
>> flagdu at nfbnet.org; nagdu-leaders at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: marion.gwizdala at verizon.net
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Washington Post: Uber sued for allegedly
>> refusingridestothe blind and putting a dog in the trunk
>> 
>> This is going to happen with any service that uses apps for scheduling that
>> does not provide a way for specifying  that you have a service dog. I know
>> that some people don't like specifying that they have a service dog with
>> them, but I would rather wait a little longer for someone who will take a
>> dog than wait at least double time for someone to come, see the dog, and
>> then get someone else, provided that I realize right away what has
>> happened.
>> There is another app called taxi Magic, and I have had this happen to me at
>> least two or three times. There needs to be laws about smart phone apps for
>> scheduling that say that the app has to allow the user to provide feedback
>> to the company that the driver drove off when they saw the dog. Taxi Magic
>> has a ride survey, but you don't get to take it if the driver cancels the
>> ride, which is what most of the drivers did.
>> 
>> Nicole
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of debby phillips
>> via nagdu
>> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 9:11 PM
>> To: Marion Gwizdala; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide
>> Dog Users; nagdu at nfbnet.org; nyagdu at nfbnet.org; njagdu at nfbnet.org;
>> flagdu at nfbnet.org; nagdu-leaders at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: marion.gwizdala at verizon.net
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Washington Post: Uber sued for allegedly refusing
>> ridestothe blind and putting a dog in the trunk
>> 
>> Hi all, there's another company similar to Uber called Lift.  The same
>> thing
>> happened to a friend of mine.  He and his dog were supposed to be picked up
>> at work and driven home.  He lives in another city from our job, and
>> there's
>> no bus connection between the two.  So when he downloaded LIFT to his
>> phone,
>> he was given a bunch of free rides, which was their offer for new folks.
>> Anyway, the car came to get him and when the driver saw that the blind
>> person had a dog, he left.  Not sure what he is doing about this.  I had
>> thought about getting this App and using Lift, but I
>> don't exactly want to get stranded.    Peace,    Debby and the
>> Golden Neena
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Raven
> "if God didn't make it, don't eat it." - John B. Symes, D.V.M.
> http://dogtorj.com
> 
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