Keep in mind the following scenario: A user with a disability books an Uber. They are unable to get to the Uber within the allotted time. The driver leaves. Th

Keep in mind the following scenario: A user with a disability books an Uber. They are unable to get to the Uber within the allotted time. The driver leaves. The customer then books another Uber, and this time successfully makes the trip. The customer calls Uber to refund the cancellation fee, which Uber does. Uber is then out the time the first driver took to reach the destination, the driving time, and the cost of the customer service contact (which can be quite expensive). They also have to deal with reputational and regulatory risk. This isn't an invented scenario - I've seen this happen. Wouldn't it be less costly for Uber for the driver to just wait an extra 5 minutes? > How should a person with disabilities indicate that they have a disability requiring extra time in a fraud proof manner? There are already systems for allowing people with disabilities to qualify for reduced fares or paratransit - typically involving having your doctor send a letter to the local transit agency. Uber could either replicate such a system, or they could accept documentation from a local transit agency or they could allow people to self-designate and eat the cost of fraud (my guess is that stigma and lack of awareness of the program will prevent a lot of people from fraudulently using it). > Should all disabilities be treated equally? > Who decides how much time should be granter per? Ideally you'd make a decision based on an individual's needs, but if I was a product manager for Uber I'd just just set a high limit for everyone who qualified for the program initially and then figure out later if something more complex is needed based on how much time drivers are actually waiting. If this program helps Uber reduce the number of cancellation/re-bookings/1-star reviews > Should this same policy apply to people with ephemeral injuries? Yes, temporary disabilities are disabilities. > Should Uber compensate the driver for this extra time to ensure the driver is still incentivized to pick up people with disabilities? Yes, for exactly the reason you mentioned > Why, ethically, should this cost fall on Uber instead of the driver? Either way an inefficient market is being created here because the government is stepping in and saying that a transaction made between two rational actors is unfair even if those parties agree to the terms of the transaction (unless Uber is a monopoly). If the driver is not compensated fairly for their time, why is this sacrifice ethically permissible? First, I'm not convinced that Uber having to pay for extra waiting time is against UBER's best interest - see the scenario above. But even if it were on balance a net cost to Uber, society has an interest in ensuring that everyone is able to travel and do all the things that travel enables (any kind of in-person commerce, healthcare, etc).