Disability advocates sue Lyft over wheelchair access

Disability rights supporters are suing Lyft for allegedly not providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the Bay Area.

The proposed classaction suit was filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court by Berkeley’s Disability Rights Advocates, San Francisco’s Independent Living Resource Center and two people who use wheelchairs.

It closely resembles a suit that the groups filed last month against Uber. Both cases point to the increasing importance of ride-hailing as a transportation option and allege that Uber and Lyft are violating antidiscrimination laws.

“Lyft provides a vital service in the Bay Area, and many of our consumers who use wheelchairs are simply excluded from it because Lyft has done nothing to make its service accessible to them,” said Jessie Lorenz, executive director of the Independent Living Resource Center, in a statement.

Lyft said it is committed to expanding transportation options for underserved populations and that about 7 percent of its passengers report living with a disability. It has joined forces with groups serving deaf and blind people, it said.

“We currently have partnerships and programs in place to provide enhanced (wheelchairaccessible vehicle) access in various parts of the country, and are actively exploring ways to expand them nationwide,” spokesman Scott Coriell said in an email.

Lyft has an option called “access mode” for riders to request vehicles with a lift or ramp for a motorized wheelchair or scooter. But the complaint filed Tuesday calls that option a sham. “When access mode is activated, the user receives a text message stating that Lyft has no wheelchair-accessible vehicles available, and Lyft provides the user with a list of public transit, paratransit and taxicab phone numbers,” the complaint states.

Neither case seeks money, aside from attorney’s fees and costs. Instead, the plaintiffs want Lyft and Uber to provide a comprehensive solution to accommodate wheelchair users.

“Lyft’s discrimination compounds what is already a major societal problem — extremely limited transportation options for people who use wheelchairs in the Bay Area,” the plaintiffs said in a press release. “For instance, many parts of the BART system are inaccessible due to elevator outages. Bus service is often slow and may not take riders where they need to go. Wheelchairaccessible Ubers are rarely, if ever, available.”