[NAGDU] Rideshare Issues

Mon Jul 24 02:52:25 UTC 2023

Our paratransit in my area in Massachusetts, called The Ride, has for a long time wanted to know if you were using a service animal in order to decide whether you need a van or not.  (You can request a van if you want anyway, I think.) Rightly or not, I figured these folks wouldn't do this without some attempt at a special rule: it's no secret, and nobody has sued, as far as I know.  I've considered challenging it, but I preferred the vans to the cars anyway, which had Boston Strangler seatbelts.

My wife has ridden in cars recently.  She said the one (or maybe more than one) she rode in was bigger, and also (though not in these words) that Boston Strangler, Inc. did not manufacture the seatbelts in the new cars.  Since I'm not even remotely an ADA expert, and since our suit against the Fung Wah bus company some years ago gave us an eloquent but nominal legal victory that cost the company little beyond what it paid to its expensive lawyers, diving again into legal proceedings appealed to me only a little more than ingesting nails from a toolbox.  If somebody has legal knowledge that may help me steer a better course, I'll be pleased to know it.

Thanks!

Al

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Campbell via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2023 7:10 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Elizabeth Campbell <batescampbell at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Rideshare Issues

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
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