[NAGDU] New options for personal disclosure with Uber

Mon Oct 21 15:23:46 UTC 2024

Fellow NAGDU members:

I cannot speak to the blind/deaf SelfID options Uber publicly announced 
two weeks ago, and how they will work/benefit us as riders. That is 
because we spoke with Uber last week after the rally and the entire call 
was taken up with  discussing the SelfID for service animal users that 
Uber has not yet announced for  the general public. What I can say about 
the Service animal Self ID is that, as currently implemented internally, 
if a driver cancels a ride after being informed that a match rider has a 
service animal, they will be reminded that  Uber policy and the law 
require them to transport service animals, and that if they continue to 
cancel their account may be suspended or permanently deactivated. If 
they continue to cancel, the rider will be asked in the app if they 
would like to file a complaint, and the relevant information will 
automatically be sent to Uber with one click. Uber has said that the 
warning about cancellations due to service animals and the drivers 
continuing anyway will provide them with the information they need to 
establish a knowing refusal.

Raul and I, along with some other members of the service animal using 
community,   will be participating in a pilot of the service animal 
SelfID system over the next six to seven weeks. During that pilot we 
will be providing feedback to Uber on how the system seems to be 
working, how we suggest it be changed to perform better before general 
release, etc. Among the things we and Uber will be testing is when the 
notification to the driver is most effective, such as whether the driver 
should be notified immediately after matching, shortly after matching in 
case they have a legitimate non-discriminatory reason to cancel (such as 
they had the system on auto-match and they want to go home, take a 
break, etc.), or shortly before arriving at the pickup location. There 
may be preferences in the app to choose which option the rider prefers 
once the feature is released to the public.

Uber has also indicated that there may also be a “identify to Uber but 
not drivers” option that will allow riders to benefit from the 
streamlined one-click denial reporting feature without fully opting into 
the system to identify service animal using riders to drivers.

At any rate, the SelfID blind/deaf feature Uber announced two weeks ago 
is not the service animal selfID feature. Hopefully we will have more to 
report on the service animal SelfID feature before the end of the year. 
In the meantime, we will seek additional information on the blind/deaf 
rider SelfID system they already announced to determine what, if any, 
benefits it offers and how.

Yours,

/Æ

On 20 Oct 2024, at 22:17, Margo Downey wrote:

> Well, you know, I think these options Uber is supposedly giving us are 
> token options to make them feel good about themselves.
>
> I haven't heard what disciplinary actions, if necessary, will happen 
> due to drivers' lack of good service and breaking laws.
>
> I am not impressed.
>
> I am impressed by the people who organized and attended the rally in 
> San Francisco. I am so glad the NFB had this rally and that we've 
> gotten media coverage. I still have doubts, though, about what the 
> future will bring.
>
> Margo and Tami
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie A. 
> Orozco via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2024 10:14 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Cc: Julie A. Orozco
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] New options for personal disclosure with Uber
>
> Sorry to bring this back.
>
> But it was my understanding that what we wanted was slightly different 
> than what we got. I thought we wanted a self-identification system 
> that would also result in automatic penalties for drivers who denied 
> us. In other words, if we chose to identify as a rider with a service 
> animal and the driver canceled on us, their account would 
> automatically be suspended. I don't see anything about driver 
> punishment/accountability in these announcements.
>
> I am strongly against even trying out an identification system like 
> this because it defies the spirit of the laws that drivers violate all 
> the time. It also won't work without some kind of "stick," something 
> that will actually hold drivers accountable. I understand our options 
> are limited. I'm also so grateful we were able to protest at 
> headquarters. But this self-identification system seems, by all 
> accounts, to be a win for Uber and their drivers without any kind of 
> reward for us.
>
> Maybe I'm missing something or don't have the whole story. That's 
> always a possibility. I'm just very worried that our people will buy 
> into this and things will get worse before they have a hope of getting 
> better.
>
> Julie
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Elia via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 10:11 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] New options for personal disclosure with Uber
>
> Everyone – we have been advocating for optional SelfID. I agree that 
> Uber’s last-minute publicizing of a diminished SelfID has no bearing 
> on our rally or our demands, but I will repost (or you can search the 
> archives for) my explanations of how we demanded SelfID work, as well 
> as why we think it will improve our lives as rideshare riders even if 
> some of us do not opt-in.
>
> Now I must go to the rally.
>
> /Æ
>
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