Uber, blind riders reach settlement over service dogs
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Uber and advocates for the blind have reached a lawsuit settlement in which the ride-hailing company agrees to require that existing and new drivers confirm they understand their legal obligations to transport riders with guide dogs or other service animals. The settlement is designed to resolve a lawsuit in federal court that alleges Uber discriminates against passengers with service dogs.
SAN FRANCISCO >> Uber and advocates for the blind have reached a lawsuit settlement in which the ride-hailing company agrees to require that existing and new drivers confirm they understand their legal obligations to transport riders with guide dogs or other service animals, an advocacy group announced Saturday.
The National Federation of the Blind said Saturday that Uber will also remove a driver from the platform after a single complaint if it determines the driver knowingly denied a person with a disability a ride because the person was traveling with a service animal.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2014 in federal court that alleges Uber discriminates against passengers with service dogs. The lawsuit said Uber drivers refused to take passengers with dogs and in one case locked the passenger’s service dog in the trunk.
Federal law requires taxis and other private transportation services to carry a disabled passenger’s service animal.
“Access to reliable and effective transportation is critical to the ability of blind people to live the lives we want,” said Mark A. Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind. “Uber and similar services can be a great asset to the blind when they are fully and equally available to us.”
Uber will also spend $225,000 to deploy people with the National Federation of the Blind and its California affiliate to evaluate the company’s compliance with the settlement, the group said.
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Under the agreement, Uber does not admit any liability, and it denies that it has violated any laws.
Uber didn’t respond to an email Saturday seeking comment.
2 responses to “Uber, blind riders reach settlement over service dogs”
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The problem is that everybody claims the animal they have is a service animal. People are taking animals everywhere. They might carry the animal. They might not. The people even push their “service” animals around in baby carriages or in a shopping cart. I’m disabled and dislike non-disabled people claiming they are disabled and you can’t challenge them. Everybody has a disabled parking placard and parks in a space reserved for disabled people — teenagers, taxi drivers, service vans, etc.
Some adults simply grew up knowing no shame – but with plenty of pride though.