[NAGDU] Rideshare Issues

[Elizabeth Campbell]

Everyone,

I don't think it's fair or productive to criticize someone's decision to
disclose or not to disclose whether they are accompanied by their service
dog. I think that choice is up to the individual handler. I sometimes give
notification that I'm traveling with a service dog and sometimes I don't,
it just depends on the situation for me at the time.
I think Tina was pointing out two things. One is that she was trying to
comply with the procedures from the paratransit service provider in her
area which seem onerous and unfair to me. Nonetheless, she felt that she
had to cancel her trip because of the treatment she was getting from the
transit service.
Second, she faced discrimination at the airport when she was asked to
provide proof of her service animal and then the touch screen she needed
wasn't accessible.
I think she's trying to say that she's encountering more and more barriers
when traveling wiht her dog.
Tina, apologies in advance if I'm wrong on any of these points.

Best to all,

Liz

On Sun, Jul 23, 2023 at 10:45 AM judotina48kg--- via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Good Morning:
> Yesterday, Saturday July, 22,2023 I booked a rideshare trip (Paratransit).
> While filling out all of the pertinent information I inadvertently missed
> checking the Service Animal box. It wasn't until this morning that I
> realized that I didn't check that box.
>
> I called the Paratransit Customer Line and spoke to a gentleman and
> verified
> if I in fact did not have a Service Dog on my information sheet. We then
> discussed the situation and he put me on a brief hold while he spoke to the
> Dispatcher. After waiting on hold for approx.
> 5-10 minutes, the gentleman reconnects with me and informs me that the
> Dispatcher wasn't able to add the Service Dog because my mode of
> transportation is a taxi. I asked if they could send me a van and he put me
> on hold once again for about 5 minutes. Once we reconnected again, he
> informed me that I would have to speak to after hours customer service. I
> was transferred there just to hear the office was closed.  So as a result,
> I
> canceled my rides online only to find that it did not cancel. However, the
> gentleman did mention that canceling online could be difficult, and I
> didn't
> question being that I was dealing with a possible denial due to my Service
> Dog was not attached to my information.  I called the reservation line and
> explained the situation and the woman on the line was able to cancel my
> trips.
>
> It's either the touch screen or the check box or both that is becoming a
> major pain in the a$$ I feel like I'm living in a bubble with the law of
> physics turned upside down being that I was stopped at the MSP airport on
> March 12, 2023 and asked for a hard copy of my DOT forms and now the above
> mentioned.
> Frustrating and aggravation to say the least.
>
> Respectfully submitted By Tina Thomas
> Email: tina.thomas90044 at gmail.com
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Elizabeth Campbell