Advocates: Ridehailing apps “useless” for disabled riders
A report by an advocacy group in New York says Uber, Lyft and other ridehailing services are virtually “useless” for people with disabilities because of the relative lack of vehicles equipped to handle wheelchairs and motorized scooters.
The report by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest also says that when riders summoned wheelchair-accessible vehicles from Uber and Lyft — the only ride-hailing companies to offer such a service — the wait time was more than four times longer than for regular service.
As if that weren’t bad enough, all these DIY taxi services are clogging city streets and slowing buses and paratransit vehicles that are equipped to transport people with disabilities.
The advocacy group called on Uber and Lyft, along with smaller operators Juno and Via, to do better by disabled riders, perhaps by offering more incentives to drivers to equip their vehicles to transport them.
“We see it as an equal rights issue,” said Ruth Lowenkron, director of the disability justice program for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
Although the report focuses only on New York City, advocates in the disability community say there’s little reason to think the problem is any different in other jurisdictions where ride-hailing has become the go-to way to get around.
Uber and Lyft officials said their companies are committed to providing better service for people with disabilities.
Both companies highlighted their commitment to a pilot program under the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, or TLC, intended to provide better service for disabled riders. The two-year pilot, which begins in July, will essentially pool wheelchair-accessible vehicles and route them through a centralized dispatcher. It’s a permissible alternative to compliance with TLC regulations that would otherwise require for-hire vehicle services to have at least 25 percent of their fleets equipped to handle wheelchairs by 2022.
“Uber is committed to working with the TLC to make the (pilot program) a success and increase access to reliable service to New Yorkers in wheelchairs,” company spokeswoman Alix Anfang said in an email.
“Lyft feels strongly about ensuring that those who need rides most are able to get them and we are committed to working with the TLC on the For-hire-vehicle pilot program to expand service for New Yorkers in wheelchairs,” spokeswoman Campbell Matthews said.
Neither Juno nor Via responded to emails seeking comment before publication.
The report — which was written about in the Verge — casts light on an issue that poses a particular challenge for the ride-hailing services and their business model. As a sort of DIY taxi company, Uber got its start inviting ordinary people to use their spare time and their private vehicles to earn money ferrying other people around. But not all of those everyday drivers have vehicles that are equipped to handle wheelchairs or motorized scooters very easily.
As Uber and Lyft seize more and more of the ondemand transportation market, however, the companies face greater calls to conform to some of the standards that have long governed mass transit and other forms of public transportation. Those standards include the Americans With Disabilities Act’s requirement for equal access.