Are you a legally blind individual who uses a guide dog and has been denied rides by Uber because of your guide dog?
Do you avoid using Uber because you have heard that Uber taxis refuse to pick up customers with service animals?
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Timothy Elder of TRE Legal Practice are investigating complaints from blind individuals with service animals who have been denied transportation services by drivers of Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Uber is a San Francisco based company that offers taxi transportation services in many metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Uber developed a smart phone application that customers use to request and pay for rides. The application is available for iPhones and phones running the Android operating system.
If you are a legally blind Bay Area resident, use a service animal and you believe that you have been denied a ride by one of Uber’s taxis because you have a service animal; or, if you have avoided using Uber because you have heard that Uber taxis refuse to pick up customers with service animals, then DRA and TRE Legal Practice want to hear from you. To share your experiences, please contact Rachel Smith by phone at (510) 665-8644 or by email at rsmith@dralegal.org.
I’m legally deafblind and have a guide dog. I was rejected by 3 driver in 1 day for not allowing my service dog in their car. 2 of them didn’t stop they just cancel and left without any notice, the 3rd one try to complain about the dog in their car and an stranger came to assist me by explaining the driver. A few minutes another stranger came up and ask what going on and offer to give me a ride. i did e-mail to the manager of the area where Uber is used and the manager was so upset and stated that all driver should know they should allow dog in their car and that they do not reject customer again. I got $20 credit and i was so scare to try again with my guide dog because it is communication and time concern of trying to deal with the driver.