[NAGDU] Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
Richard
richard.petty at earthlink.net
Sat Jul 22 13:03:11 UTC 2023
Al, all great points. If self-driving vehicles are further in the future than feared, there may be reason to focus on much more immediate matters.
If I can participate, I may request attention be given to proper drop offs. Recently I was dropped off in a location far from my destination. It was pretty unnerving.
Thanks again for your leadership.
Richard
From: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2023 1:50 PM
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
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 <mailto:al.elia at aol.com> >
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2023 9:17 AM
To: Richard <richard.petty at earthlink.net <mailto:richard.petty at earthlink.net> >
Cc: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com <mailto:al.elia at aol.com> >
Subject: [NAGDU] Upcoming UBER Town Hall Session
From: National Federation of the Blind webmaster at nfb.orgNational <mailto: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 <mailto: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> 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> https://uber.zoom.us/u/adHcYrSQUI
Facebook Logo
Twitter Logo
Instagram Logo
YouTube Logo
Email Icon Image
Donate to the NFB Icon.
National Federation of the Blind | 200 E Wells Street | Baltimore, MD
21230 | 410-659-9314
Unsubscribe | Opt Out | Sign Up for Our E-newsletter
200 East Wells Street**
Baltimore, MD 21230
United States**
..
_______________________________________________
NAGDU mailing list
NAGDU at nfbnet.org <mailto:NAGDU at nfbnet.org>
<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_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/richard.petty%40earthlink.net> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/richard.petty%40earthlink.net
More information about the NAGDU
mailing list