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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Hi Julie. I’m so frustrated on your behalf. The driver should get a notification that says “rider has a service animal.” If they hit cancel at that point, the app reminds them that it’s against the law and
Uber’s policy to deny access. If they still hit cancel, then it’s supposed to trigger a streamlined complaint process available to you in the app or through a link in your email. If the drivers ignore the pop-up and just arrive and see you and then decide
they don’t want to take you and cancel, I would think that the pop-up in your app about filing a complaint should still pop up. What was your experience? Were you easily able to file complaints either with the link in your email or the prompt in the app, or
did you have to dig around in the menus like we normally had to do and file a complaint that way? This of course assumes that people just have time to monitor what they’re getting in the app and file complaints somewhat contemporaneously, but I still wanted
to ask what your experience was on that front.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> NAGDU <nagdu-bounces@nfbnet.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Julie A. Orozco via NAGDU<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, April 8, 2025 9:34 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu@nfbnet.org><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar@gmail.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [NAGDU] Uber Service Animal Self ID Program<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Good evening fellow guide dog users,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I hope all of you are doing well. I am *<b>finally</b>* working my third guide dog, a male chocolate lab from The Seeing Eye, called Xavier. He’s a wonderful dog and a joy to work.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Of course, working a dog brings about the inevitable Uber denials. I’ve gotten three so far, and we’ve only been home a couple of weeks. (Uber and Lyft are really terrible in the DC area.)
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">For some reason, Sunday was just a bad day for me and Uber. I have self ID turned on, so drivers should be notified when they arrive that they are picking up someone with a service animal and that they are
required by law to allow us in their car. At least, that was my understanding. But these drivers seem unable to understand the self ID notification. Either that, or they are not being notified properly.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I had three drivers on Sunday going to and from a friend’s house. The first driver took me, only when I pointed to my eyes and told him I was blind and that my dog was working. (Sometimes, looking blind has
its advantages.) He did not understand when I asked him if the app told him I was traveling with a service animal.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The second driver, the one who was set to take me home, refused us access. He did not speak English, but even when my friend and I pulled out Google translate, he would not budge. He said no dogs in his car
and even canceled the ride. I am not sure if he received the notification, but he seemed totally clueless about the whole service animal thing. I don’t think he was faking it either because if so, he wouldn’t have wanted to cancel the ride himself.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The third driver didn’t want to take me at first either. I had to explain to him what my dog was for, and once I did, he got it. I asked him if he received the notification, and he said yes but that he didn’t
get a chance to read it. He said he could just get passed it without reading it.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">So, my questions follow. Are drivers being notified and trained about their requirements under law to take service animal teams in their language of choice? Second, what does the notification system look like?
I imagined something that would pop up and force them to read before proceeding with the trip. How are so many of my drivers seeming confused about me and my guide dog? Is this still happening to anyone else? Or do I live in the land of Uber access denials?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I was hesitant about self ID, but I am happy with it because it doesn’t alert the drivers until they arrive. It’s like Uber telling them for me when I’m right there that the driver has to follow the law and
take me with my service animal. But it’s not effective if drivers can just ignore the notifications.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Apologies for the long email, and thank you for any perspective you can provide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Julie<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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