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This makes sense. If instead of a dog it's a wheelchair, it's undeniably "not your fault" if you car literally can't handle it. The other issue is that we, as
by RangerScience 9y ago
This makes sense. If instead of a dog it's a wheelchair, it's undeniably "not your fault" if you car literally can't handle it.
The other issue is that we, as a society, subsidize the additional cost for the handicapped; I doubt that Uber subsidizes the additional cleaning for transporting a service dog.
- jstarfish 9y agoCleaning aside, I'm surprised that having unsecured bodies in a passenger vehicle is a requisite for being a service provider. Letting your dog loose in your own car is your own choice, but the trunk exists for unsecured cargo so in an accident, you don't have large objects flying around inside the cabin. The correct solution would be to identify the handicapped passenger with animal and dispatch an appropriate vehicle. Instead, Uber puts both driver and passenger in danger with this policy.
- ghaff 9y agoPeople do not put their dogs in the trunk and they may or may not use carriers in vehicles with a back cargo hatch.
- jstarfish 9y agoI'm aware people do not put dogs in the trunk, nor was I suggesting that-- hence dispatching an alternative vehicle to accommodate an animal. A van with a carrier, or an SUV with a partitioned front/rear would suffice. Instead of calling Uber X, you call Uber Furry or somesuch.
- DanBC 9y agoThe entire point of disability discrimination laws (which have existed for many years now) is prevent this kind of segregation.
- BadCookie 9y agoI see what you're saying, but let's be realistic. Is every Uber/Lyft vehicle going to be outfitted with a wheelchair lift, just in case? That's definitely not going to happen. Most vehicles cannot accommodate a wheelchair, and the ones that can (vans) are very expensive to modify. I am not completely wheelchair-dependent, but I cannot get into a tall vehicle (like an SUV). Last time I used Lyft, I had to call a vehicle and just cross my fingers that I would be assigned to one that would work for me. If not, I had to cancel and try again. I would much rather have a special vehicle dispatched to me than be assigned a vehicle that is inadequate.
- ghaff 9y agoStereotypes notwithstanding, a lot of regulations/laws do make reasonable tradeoffs. In this case, it appears as if the ADA guidelines do require a taxi driver to help stow a wheelchair but they don't require every cab to be a van equipped with a wheelchair lift. It would be nice if Uber allowed special requests although, of course, the number of options could explode quickly and it probably doesn't fit well with the Uber automated dispatch model.
- black_puppydog 9y agothe equivalent might be that every uber ride would become .001% more expensive. For confirmed (as in, by a doctor) dog allergic drivers I'm cool, for everything else this just seems like a cheap excuse and shifting of responsibilities...
- gaius 9y agoit's undeniably "not your fault" if you car literally can't handle it If you are working as a commercial driver or employing commercial drivers then yes, complying with the law is very much "your fault".
- RangerScience 9y agoMost taxis can't do wheelchairs, either. No-one blames the taxi driver.
- dragonwriter 9y ago> The other issue is that we, as a society, subsidize the additional cost for the handicapped The only way this is generally true of privately-offered public accommodations covered by ADA is that the requirements impose additional costs on business which they pass on to all customers. > I doubt that Uber subsidizes the additional cleaning for transporting a service dog. The occasional need to do so is a cost of doing business which should factor into the minimum rate that drivers are willing to accept. No specific subsidy should be needed.
- RangerScience 9y agoYes, this is exactly what I'm saying. It should factor in, but AFAIK doesn't.