DRIVEN TO AID THE DISABLED
Advocates are urging regulators to require Uber and Lyft to improve access for customers in wheelchairs
‘It was a teachable moment, and that’s putting it gently. I’ve met drivers who were
surprised or shocked that I was in a wheelchair, but you can’t just refuse to help.’ ANDY ARIAS, who has cerebral palsy
The conference Andy Arias planned to attend on a recent weekday was less than a mile from his apartment in downtown Los Angeles, but he requested an Uber ride to stay out of the oppressive summer sun.
As Arias approached the sedan, the driver saw that he was in a wheelchair. He recalls telling her that he could slide into the back seat on his own, and she would only need to stow the folded, 10pound wheelchair frame in the trunk.
But she refused to get out of the car. Eventually, a bystander lifted the wheelchair into the trunk.
“It was a teachable moment, and that’s putting it gently,” said Arias, an actor in his late 20s, who has cerebral palsy. “I’ve met drivers who were surprised or shocked that I was in a wheelchair, but you can’t just refuse to help.”
Arias’ experience, and others like it, has raised concerns that app-based ride service Uber and its main rival, Lyft, aren’t doing enough to meet the needs of passengers in wheelchairs. As the start-ups negotiate for permits to pick up passengers at Los Angeles International Airport, advocates are pressing regulators to require better access for disabled travelers, saying they should be as confident that they can catch a ride with Uber and Lyft as with a taxi.
Both companies are facing lawsuits across the country — in California, Texas and Arizona — alleging that their drivers discriminate against people with wheelchairs and seeing-eye dogs.