Uber and Lyft have to do extra to assist disabled passengers, particularly those that are blind or visually impaired, in line with protesters who gathered outdoors the businesses’ headquarters on October 15.
Wired spoke to protesters who shared tales about drivers passing them by or refusing to allow them to carry their information canines on a trip. They mentioned ride-hailing corporations ought to do extra to coach drivers on accommodating passengers with visible impairments, and may train a “zero-tolerance” coverage for discriminatory drivers.
A Lyft spokesperson mentioned, “We attempt to supply an inclusive and accessible platform for riders, together with those that depend on service animals.” They mentioned the corporate is “working instantly with advocacy organizations locally” and likewise pointed to an upcoming “service animal opt-in characteristic” that ought to launch by 2025.
The corporate talked about the characteristic earlier this month, in a profile of a brand new product supervisor, Shreya Shankar, who mentioned it will enable riders to “declare that they’ve a service animal” (they’ll solely want to do that as soon as), so the motive force shall be notified earlier than pickup.
“That manner there shouldn’t be any surprises — or confusion or frustration from getting stranded,” Shankar mentioned.
