LYFT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE DRIVERS
LYFT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE DRIVER

But it’s unclear if or when the option will be available elsewhere. Indeed, Uber has recently added the ability to order a wheelchair-accessible vehicle using its app in certain major cities like New York and San Francisco. “It would have to modify the Uber App, modify its policies and procedures, and provide wheelchair accessible vehicles in numerous cities,” according to an October court filing.

LYFT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE DRIVER

In a Texas case, Uber has already indicated that the cost of making the necessary modifications would be “extraordinary.” The plaintiff in that lawsuit said a driver refused him service and that he could not order an accessible vehicle through the app. It also requested that the court interpret whether the laws governing other transportation providers should apply to Uber as well.Ī decision against Uber could be costly to it and other upstart tech firms that may find themselves classified as belonging to a more traditional industry. Justice Department recently intervened in the blind plaintiffs’ case to urge that the discrimination accusations be taken seriously. Uber argues that as a technology company, it is not subject to laws regulating public transit and other transportation providers, such as the ADA, or “ required to provide accessible vehicles or accommodations.” Still, the heart of Uber’s defense against the discrimination allegations could not only define its identity as a firm, but set a new precedent for how it and other disruptive tech-based businesses are viewed in the eyes of the law.

LYFT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE DRIVERS

But it recommends that passengers who need them call the driver in advance and let them know–and has a hotline for drivers to call if they have a “medically documented reason” that would prevent them from taking the animal. Lyft says it is also willing to accommodate service animals. It is Lyft’s policy that passengers that use wheelchairs that can safely and securely fit in the trunk of the vehicle or backseat of the car without obstructing the view of the driver should be reasonably accommodated by drivers on the Lyft platform, and drivers should make every reasonable effort to transport the passenger and his or her wheelchair. It told The Daily Beast that drivers accused of discrimination are usually suspended or fired. Uber denies any responsibility by saying it doesn’t discriminate against the disabled and that it can transport blind and wheelchair-bound passengers. So Parisi had to maneuver herself and the chair into the back seat with no assistance, while the driver berated her as an “invalid.” Kristen Parisi, 30-year-old Boston woman who uses a wheelchair, told The Daily Beast that an Uber driver refused to pack her chair into the trunk, for example. Meanwhile, other disabled app users are airing their own grievances outside of court. The driver then failed to provide alternative transportation. Other drivers allegedly refused to pick up blind customers accompanied by dogs.Īnother physically disabled woman, Jennifer McPhail of Austin, says in a lawsuit that a Lyft driver left her on the curb because her wheelchair couldn’t fit in the car.

One lawsuit by the National Federation of the Blind of California, for example, says an UberX driver stuffed a blind passenger’s guide dog in the trunk, and refused to stop the car to let the animal out. Drivers who unreasonably refused to transport passengers with wheelchairs would risk being removed from the Lyft platform.The complaints paint the car service companies-or at least their drivers-as callous to the disabled. Lyft’s policy requires drivers to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs, as long as the wheelchair can safely fit in the car’s trunk or backseat without blocking the driver’s view. However, Lyft, a multi-billion-dollar company, neglects people with disabilities who use wheelchairs and excludes them altogether-in direct violation of the law,” the DRA said in a statement. If the company provided equal and non-discriminatory service, it would revolutionize the lives of people who need wheelchair accessible vehicles.

“Lyft has become an important transportation option in the Bay Area. Instead, the company sent plaintiffs a text message, directing them to other accessible transportation services nearby and therefore violated California’s anti-discrimination laws. The lawsuit, f iled in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges Lyft failed to connect plaintiffs with wheelchair-accessible cars when they requested them through the “access” mode.

Lyft wheelchair accessible