[NAGDU] Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
Al Elia
al.elia at aol.com
Fri Jul 21 18:50:00 UTC 2023
Richard – While there are issues surrounding blind access to
self-driving cars and rideshares, there are several reasons why that is
not an issue for this town hall:
1. right now the only place where Uber is using AVs is in a limited
pilot program inn Las Vegas, and those AVs have humans behind the wheel
for safety (and presumably for access);
2. Uber has partnered with Motional to provide AV passenger service.
Motional has also partnered with Lyft, so if we are concerned about
ridehailing an AV from Lyft or Uber, we should address those concerns to
Motional;
3. Mos importantly, guide dog users are being denied all over the
country now, and some white cane users are also being denied because
they are blind. Those are issues that affect us right now and that will
continue to affect us for the foreseeable future, since Uber is not
going to be able to replace all of its driven cars for at least a decade
or more..
For what its worth, I’m far less worried about a driverless car
denyying us because we use canes or dogs, or because we are blind. I
expect denials will cease entirely once the drivers are gone. In the
meantime, NFB is working with AV companies to ensure accessibility
generally, not just for rideshares. That is where any questions or
concerns about self-driving vehicles should be directed.
That said, if you would like to raise the issue of not being dropped off
in the correct location by human drivers, and how Uber might educate
drivers on that issue, that would be a proper topic for this town hall.
I hope that addresses your inquiry.
/Æ
On 21 Jul 2023, at 14:21, Richard wrote:
> Thank you Al. It certainly seems the matter falls under "…negative
> service concerns based on guide dog and/or white cane use and/or
> blindness." Of not, how does it not?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 21, 2023 9:17 AM
> To: Richard <richard.petty at earthlink.net>
> Cc: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
>
> It will not. It will focus on denials and other negative service
> concerns based on guide dog and/or white cane use and/or blindness.
>
> On 21 Jul 2023, at 10:09, Richard wrote:
>
>> How will this relate to the House Energy and Commerce hearing on July
>> 26th titled, "Self-Driving Vehicle Legislative Framework?".
>>
>> There are potential serious safety matters for self-driving transit
>> and TNCs (e.g., Uber and Lyft). Surely any of us who have experienced
>> the danger of being dropped off at an incorrect location will be
>> fearful of how systems can fail. Often addresses are not well
>> identified and it's doubtful AI can problem solve ambiguous errors.
>> (I have a sense of the possible danger from related problems which
>> have occurred even with human drivers when drivers have ended a trip
>> at an incorrect location. GPS can be seriously incorrect. A correct
>> drop off requires good problem solving and effective communication
>> between the blind passenger and driver. Sighted passengers can see a
>> destination and direct the driver accordingly. This is not true for
>> those of us who are blind. Many of us have had unpleasant and even
>> dangerous experiences.
>>
>>
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Elia via NAGDU
>> Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2023 8:24 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
>> Subject: [NAGDU] Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
>>
>> From: National Federation of the Blind webmaster at nfb.orgNational
>> Federation of the Blind logo and tagline live the life you want
>>
>> Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
>>
>> July 27, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern via Zoom.
>>
>> Attend an upcoming event that UBER has organized to share your
>> experiences and ask questions. As mentioned in the 2023 Presidential
>> Report, a persistent problem we face is the denial by rideshare
>> drivers
>> who refuse to transport us because of our guide dogs and, sometimes,
>> even just because we are blind people. The National Federation of the
>> Blind has redoubled our efforts to make progress, but there is still
>> much work to do. Join this town hall listening session with UBER on
>> July
>> 27, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
>>
>> During the 2023 National Convention, UBER representative, Liza
>> Winship,
>> spoke to the convention about the company’s commitment. Review
>> Liza's remarks.
>>
>> “We have persuaded the courts to acknowledge that rideshare
>> services
>> are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we demand
>> that
>> these innovative transportation providers put the right policies and
>> practices in place to make the legal ruling a reality. We are tired
>> of
>> waiting for equal treatment, and we are prepared to do everything
>> necessary to stop the harmful discrimination that blind people are
>> experiencing daily from drivers.” Mark Riccobono, President of the
>> National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> "Blind people should not have to experience worry over whether they
>> will
>> be late for work, late to pick up their children from daycare, miss
>> an
>> important medical appointment, or be left stranded in a potentially
>> unsafe environment caused by a denial." Raul Gallegos, President of
>> the
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>
>> Below includes a recent message from UBER and how to access the
>> listening session/town hall.
>>
>> Message from UBER
>>
>> Dear National Federation of the Blind members,
>>
>> Thank you for welcoming me as a representative of Uber to the
>> eighty-third convening of this distinguished community. I was honored
>> to
>> demonstrate the company's commitments to working together on
>> solutions
>> to barriers impacting blind and low vision users of rideshare.
>>
>> We look forward to executing on our commitments to service animal
>> handlers and also to learning more from you all about how our
>> platform
>> can best support your access to transportation. There are two ways we
>> can stay in touch:
>>
>> 1. To submit feedback regarding our commitments to service animal
>> handlers, please write to our team at serviceanimals-group at uber.com
>> (please do not submit trip denials through this email, but do use it
>> for
>> feedback or ideas);
>>
>> 2. Join an NFB-exclusive town hall session on July 27 at 3:00 p.m.
>> Eastern to learn more and ask questions. Briana Gilmore, Head of
>> Accessibility Policy, and Chris Yoon, Product Manager, from Uber will
>> host this hour-long info and feedback session. The Zoom info is
>> included
>> after the signature in this note.
>>
>> We look forward to building this relationship and investing in
>> solutions for service animal handlers and the blind and low-vision
>> community.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Liza Winship
>>
>> NFB Service Animal Town Hall Zoom Information
>> Time: Jul 27, 2023, 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
>> Join Zoom Meeting
>> https://uber.zoom.us/j/99960753787?pwd=akwxTzBlQnNiak5FVmw2OHVQVytvdz09
>> Meeting ID: 999 6075 3787
>> Password: 743850
>> Dial by your location
>> +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
>> +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
>> +1 564 217 2000 US
>> Meeting ID: 999 6075 3787
>> Password: 743850
>> Find your local number: https://uber.zoom.us/u/adHcYrSQUI
>>
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