[NAGDU] FW: Rideshare Rally at Uber and Lyft-Stop the Discrimination

Wed Aug 21 21:22:43 UTC 2024

The following is a similar experience, on behalf of the new facebook
organization and facebook page:
Cheval Assistance and Leaders International ...
This story is also available on facebook on the above-mentioned page, so
feel free to share it...
by Mona Ramouni ...
Cali is Mona's guide horse ... She is training another, named Lucy ...
I often wonder if the reason someone said man’s best friend is a dog is
because they hadn’t had a horse yet! I believe that horses are often just
as loyal as  dogs, and as protective. Breeding and training miniature
horses as service and therapy animals is my passion because I have seen
just how much they can help.
When I first got Cali, I had to learn to trust her, which was easier said
than done. Once, in that first week, she stopped, but I thought I knew
exactly where I was in space and decided that I should walk. I took another
step, smacked my head into the corner of a wall, and realized that I should
trust my horse’s eyes!
But things were anything but smooth sailing. The bus company I was using to
get back-and-forth to work was not happy about transporting Cali. They
understood that legally, she is considered a service animal and must be
accommodated. However, they also tried to get out of transporting us by
telling me that some days, they could transport us to work, but they had no
available vehicles to transport us home. I would ask Whether the vehicles
they had could accommodate wheelchairs, and they would say yes. I would
explain that the vehicle that could accommodate a wheelchair could also
accommodate a miniature horse. But that did not matter. They still did not
want to work with me.
Other times, they would schedule a ride for me to go home at a certain
time, but then, I would wait for over an hour to get a ride. Since the ride
home was about half an hour, we were both exhausted by the time we got
home. Poor Cali took this all in stride.
One day, I was the last person in the office because my ride was over an
hour late. Cali and I amused ourselves by racing up and down the hallway
and learning new words. She was learning to trust me just as much as I had
learned to trust her. I tried not to be frustrated about waiting for the
bus because it would do no good.
The vehicle arrived, and I open the door to get in. The driver was not very
friendly at all, and I could tell he was unhappy about having my perfect
horse aboard. I got in the vehicle and touched each of the seats to see
where I could put her. This van happened to have three bench seats and no
floor space, not even room for a wheelchair as the company had told me it
would. I was furious but had no other way home. So I took a deep breath and
asked Callie to jump into the vehicle.
This was not a short jump. It was much taller than her head because she
needed to jump onto the seat. Because it was such a high jump, she slipped
and started going over backwards. I weighed about ninety pounds, and she
almost two hundred. Somehow, though, I managed to pull her up onto the seat
and almost on top of me. The seat was also made of some sort of leather
material, so it was slippery and gave under her weight, which meant she was
standing very precariously.
At this point, I was so angry I did not know what to do with myself. I just
sat with her through the whole ride, whispering to her and encouraging her.
She was almost on top of me the whole way home, which was nerve-racking. I
had no idea that the best was yet to come!
We finally reached home, and relieved, I reached over beside me for what I
assumed would be the doorhandle, as usually, there are doors on each side
of the van, but not this time. I froze. This meant Cali could not jump out
of the vehicle unless she turned completely around. The space was so small
that it did not seem possible at all.
I asked the driver what I should do. He seemed unfazed. “Have her jump out
backward,“ he told me.
I was incensed. “You want my horse to jump out backward and fatally injure
herself?“ I asked.
He didn’t say anything.
I slipped under Cali‘s head and got to the other side of the seat where I
could open the door. Then, again, I started whispering to her about how
wonderful she was, how sorry I was that I had put her through this, and how
we were going to figure out how to get out of this situation. I did not
know how we would do it, though. I was determined to make sure she was OK.
She had trusted me, and now it was my turn to show her that she was
justified.
So, I put my face to hers, kissed her soft, sweet nose, and turned her head
so that she faced me. I remembered Dolores (Dolores Arste) telling me that
wherever a horse’s head goes, the body can follow. It did not seem possible
that there was enough room at all. The width between the seats was too
narrow, in my opinion, and I just could not imagine how she would turn
herself. But I asked, and asked, and finally, she was able to turn her
whole body, and to my mind, miraculously, she jumped what must have been at
least 4 feet to get to the ground.
I wonder what Cali thinks is the pivotal moment where she believed that I
would take care of her, no matter what. Was it that particular moment when
I helped her jump out of the van? Or was it some other moment that I have
forgotten but which sticks in her memory? I will never know, but the fact
that she trusts me just as much as I do her is one of the greatest miracles
in my world.

On Wed, Aug 21, 2024 at 5:12 PM Leslie Hamric via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Hi Raul and all. Sadly, I cannot be there on the 15th because I have
> rehearsal that night and I'm already going to miss the one the week before
> for my sons orchestra concert. I can't miss two in a row. I will be there
> in spirit. If there is a social media option or virtual option, I will
> gladly participate in that. And by the way, I had an issue with a cab
> driver who didn't want to take me because my kid was in the car seat. He
> said I took too much time in buckling him up. This was years ago and I
> think my son was about a year and a half. I reported him to the cab
> company. I also had an issue where the lady said I can't have that dog in
> my car because my son has asthma. I had lost it that week because I had had
> three denials right in a row. What I would say to her now is you shouldn't
> be driving for Uber or Lyft then because You are opening up your car to
> the public. And what you're doing is against the law.
> Leslie sometimes I wonder how much explaining is worth it if it's just
> better to text sometimes I wonder how much explaining is worth it if it's
> just better to text and that way I have a written record of it. I had a
> denial last week and that's what I did, I texted. And I took a screenshot
> of the conversation. Hamric
> Cello and Braille Music Teacher
>
> > On Aug 20, 2024, at 9:14 PM, Raul Gallegos - NAGDU via NAGDU <
> nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hello everyone. Please share this wherever appropriate. Also, if you
> can,
> > please come join us in California on October 15, 2024.
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Raul Gallegos, President
> >
> > National Association of Guide Dog Users
> >
> > (346) 439-7444 .  <mailto:rgallegos at nagdu.org> rgallegos at nagdu.org
> >
> > <https://d.docs.live.net/df04fbdd43ea5830/Documents/www.nfb.org>
> > www.nfb.org .
> > <https://d.docs.live.net/df04fbdd43ea5830/Documents/www.nagdu.org>
> > www.nagdu.org
> >
> >
> > <
> https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/nagdu.org_7eopjofhnd4968m46rcmgrc
> > k0s%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics> Subscribe to the NAGDU
> > public calendar
> >
> > <https://facebook.com/groups/nagdu> Facebook Group .
> > <https://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org> Email list .
> > <https://nfb.social/@GuideDogUsers> Mastodon
> >
> > "Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap."
> >
> >
> >
> > From: National Federation of the Blind <webmaster at nfb.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2024 5:11 PM
> > To: National Association of Guide Dog Users <rgallegos at nagdu.org>
> > Subject: Rideshare Rally at Uber and Lyft-Stop the Discrimination
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >  <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/images/top-blue-bar.jpg>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35354&qid=10226090>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Rideshare Rally in San Francisco
> >
> >
> > Join our demonstration to protest rideshare discrimination against blind
> > people using guide dogs and white canes.
> >
> > October 15, 2024
> > San Francisco, California
> > Uber and Lyft Headquarters*
> > 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time
> >
> > As reported in the 2024 Presidential Report, "both of the leading
> > [rideshare] companies, Lyft and Uber, are failing to meet their
> obligations
> > to ensure that blind individuals are not discriminated against. While we
> > continue to hold regular meetings with both companies in good faith to
> > improve their policies and practices, there is rarely a day that goes by
> > when we do not learn of another ride denied to a blind person.We will
> take
> > all of the courageous steps necessary to stop this second-class
> treatment."
> >
> >
> > Rideshare Requirements
> >
> >
> > Uber and Lyft are not meeting the following requirements:
> >
> > *    Drivers must not discriminate; they must pick up blind passengers.
> > *    Rideshare companies need a Zero Tolerance Policy for violators.
> > *    Rideshare companies must reduce the burden imposed on blind
> > passengers to report denials when they happen.
> > *    Rideshare companies must deliver better driver education on the
> > policy and laws regarding blind passengers, especially guide dog users.
> >
> > The discrimination must end. Don't deny; let us ride.
> >
> >
> > Submit Interest Form to Attend
> >
> >
> > Please let us know if you are interested in attending this demonstration
> on
> > October 15 by submitting the Rideshare Rally Interest Form. We will be
> > sharing more information regarding the logistics, rally route,
> recommended
> > hotel accommodations, and Rideshare Rally details in the coming weeks. By
> > completing the form, you are not obligated to attend.
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35363&qid=10226090> Rideshare
> Rally
> > Interest Form
> >
> > *Please note: the exact location will be shared in the coming weeks with
> > recommended lodging for those traveling to San Francisco.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35355&qid=10226090>
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35356&qid=10226090>
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35357&qid=10226090>
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35358&qid=10226090>
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35359&qid=10226090>
> >
> > <https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=35360&qid=10226090>
> >
> >
> >
> > National Federation of the Blind | 200 E Wells Street | Baltimore, MD
> 21230
> > | 410-659-9314
> >
> >
> >
> > <
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