No disabled passenger should ever get denied of rides, especially if they are suffering from a disability, the more they should be given priority.
In some parts of Southeast Asia, basic services like food, public transportation fares, and wellness and grooming have discounts if when senior citizens or persons with disability avail of them. But not Uber, in some cases.
Whenever Becca Shrier orders her Uber ride, she messages the Uber driver about her disability. She carries a cane every time, but when some drivers learn about her disability, the driver doesn’t adjust their pickup spot. Worse, they cancel the ride.
“A driver would see me, and I have tried to tell them through the app to come to my side of the street. They’ll see me with the cane, realize they need to make a U-turn, and go away,” she told Ridesharing Forum. “It is inconvenient on many of those streets to make a U-turn, and they don’t want to deal with it.”
She added that she has complained several times, and she has been tired of the responses.
Shrier relies on Uber to reach her destinations, since it is nearly impossible for her to find a vehicle to pick her up.
“I have been fighting for five months to be picked up on my side of the street,” she said.
But, if Uber doesn’t align with her, what else are her options?
Some of the awful responses she gets are, “Here are the accessible options that we have. We have WAV vehicles,” from which she replies, “I cannot use a WAV vehicle.”
As a result, her appointments with her doctor, which are important, get delayed.
“It meant that I missed a doctor’s appointment for a doctor who books four months out,” she emphasized.
Interestingly, Uber drivers cannot simply deny people with disability rides. In fact, the ridesharing app has a dedicated page on how it serves people with these conditions.
“Serving people with disabilities,” the website page would say. “As someone who drives with Uber, you can help make transportation more accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Find information below about picking up and assisting riders with disabilities.”
Drivers are requested to practice W.A.L.L., or Watching, Asking, Listening, and Learning.
They are also obliged to request help if the passengers are unsure how to assist riders with disabilities. Speaking respectfully and welcoming service animals who could offer help are also recommended actions.
Uber also has the Rideshare Access Program for people with disabilities, but the ridesharing app did not issue their statement regarding this matter, even if ridesharing media have reached out to them.
For Shrier, even as trivial as meeting a friend over coffee is a struggle. She is sad that others take her for granted, making things exponentially “worse.”
For more insights on food delivery and ridesharing, be sure you sign up for your account on this Ridesharing Forum site.