Not Just Service Animals, Uber is Now Discriminating Against White Canes and Babies Too

I’ve heard of Uber and Lyft drivers discriminating against service dog handlers. But now they’re discriminating against white cane users and babies too?

I don’t want the following report to reflect poorly on all persons who drive for rideshare services. There are drivers who consistently deliver phenomenal customer service despite glaring disparities between what these services charge and what the drivers earn. Some of these drivers will go as far as assuring you that you have paid for the use of the vehicle and that the vehicle is basically yours for the duration of the trip.

Then there are drivers who will ask you to remove your toddler’s shoes because their seats are white… It takes all types, but there is a chasm between the fastidious driver who does not want dirt from your child’s shoes on their leather and the driver who will flat out refuse to pick you up because you are blind.

Uber is Still Discriminating Against Service Animals

Despite a class action settlement between Uber and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in 2016, discrimination against people with disabilities remains too common to be acceptable. One would have thought the $1.1 million Uber was ordered to pay a California plaintiff in April 2021 would have motivated the ride hailing service to take a stronger position against drivers who violate federal law, but alas, one year later there were still reports of drivers leaving passengers with disabilities behind simply because of their service animal.

That’s not even the worst of it. Consider this blatant how-to video from an Uber driver, the so-called “Handsome Liberal,” on how to get around serving passengers with disabilities:

It’s not even the most egregious example of a video YouTube refuses to take down. A sort of ugly trend has emerged from drivers sharing advice on how to refuse passengers with service animals.

To add insult to injury, I began writing this article in March of this year. I’m rather surprised that more than six months later, the video is still publically available.

I do my best to see both sides of a complaint. The guy on the video says the independent contractor label is slowly eroding. Fair treatment of drivers has been a long-standing point of contention. In 2023 Uber and Lyft agreed to pay $328 million for underpaying their drivers , but my freedom to enjoy the rideshare services should not suffer as a result of the companies’ struggles with fair treatment. I pay money for a service the same as anyone else and expect service quality on par with any other passenger.

He argues independent contractors get to choose the jobs they want and that it is therefore “insensitive” and “cruel” for Uber to require them to pick up service animals. I would argue the drivers have a great deal of freedom to take jobs that have nothing to do with dealing with passengers such as food or grocery deliveries, to name just two examples.

Uber and Lyft drivers may feel justifiably inconvenienced at having to clean their vehicles after a trip with a service animal. I understand there are time and money considerations, and I actually found myself brainstorming ways to dress dogs to minimize shedding, but my empathy can only stretch so far when drivers are taking to social media to openly advocate for driving past customers with disabilities as a way to get around the service animal requirements. You want to talk about “insensitive” and “cruel?”

The White Cane is Not Immune to Discrimination

Okay, so that’s the ongoing struggle with service animals. It turns out using a white cane can leave you equally susceptible to being left behind. I’d heard of blind and low vision passengers being denied service just for being blind and low vision, and it’s not that I didn’t believe the allegations. A part of me just wanted to believe the reports pointed to an extremely rare occurrence. Now that it’s happened to me, I wonder if there’s an emerging trend.

The following incident occurred on a random Monday morning this past March. I had taken a couple hours off work to keep a medical appointment, and as much as I miss my second Seeing Eye dog, I confess there are times when I experience a certain relief at knowing my trip will not be interrupted by discrimination for using a service animal. Only, that sense of relief was about to change.

This is a copy of the transcript of the communication between me and Uber:

Message 1: From Me to Uber

I am a blind passenger. The driver pulled into my building’s parking lot, and upon seeing me, he sped up and drove past me. I attempted to call him. He did not answer. A moment later I saw a new driver was being sought. I was holding a white cane. It would have been clear to him I was a blind passenger. He did not attempt to communicate with me about why he canceled the ride. I was headed for a doctor appointment, and his refusal to pick me up was an unnecessary inconvenience. I do not feel Marcus is representing Uber well and should be dismissed from the platform for refusing to pick up a passenger with a disability. I was the only person standing outside my building. There was no doubt he was supposed to be picking me up.

Message 2: From Uber to Me

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback about this trip and I’m sorry to hear about this experience.

I would like to assure you that we are treating this seriously. A member of our team will be in touch with you after this incident has been reviewed.

In the meantime, if you feel additional information could be helpful, please reply to this message. We’ll be sure to follow up.

Message 3: From Me to Uber:

I have experienced this sort of discrimination before when I had a service animal, but I have never experienced discrimination just for being blind. My white cane was in plain sight. I know Marcus refused to pick me up, because my app alerted me the driver had arrived just as his vehicle was pulling into our parking lot. There were no other vehicles in the vicinity. There were no other people waiting for a ride. It was very clear he saw me and deliberately increased speed around the circular driveway. Please do consider removing him, because no passenger should experience this sort of customer service, regardless of their disability status. It is not a good image for Uber to reward drivers to remain on your platform with such discriminatory behavior.

Message 4: From Uber to Me

Hi Joe,
I’m sorry to hear about the experience you described on your trip on March 25, 2024 – the behavior you’ve described is not tolerated on our platform.
An investigation was opened to review your experience. We want all riders and drivers to feel safe and welcome when using Uber, and are working to continue improving the experience for all of our riders. Someone will be in touch with you as soon as possible regarding this report.
You can learn more about our policies by checking out Uber’s Community Guidelines. Please feel free to reply to this message if there’s anything else you’d like to share or if you have any other questions – we are here to help.

Message 5: From Uber to Me

Hi Joe,
I’m sorry to hear about the experience you described on your trip on March 25th 2024. An investigation was opened to review your experience. We want all riders and drivers to feel safe and welcome when using Uber, and are working to continue improving the experience for all of our riders.
I’ve refunded your trip. You should see the difference reflected on the original form of payment in the next few days.
The law generally prohibits transportation providers from denying service to a person with a disability who can get into the vehicle on their own, and also prohibits transportation providers from refusing to assist with the stowing of assistive devices, like folding wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and canes, as they would any other luggage. Our Community Guidelines require drivers to follow all applicable laws while using Uber.

We investigate all reported violations of our Non-Discrimination and Service Animal policies, and take appropriate action based on our conclusions of the investigation, which may include permanent deactivation of the driver’s account.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and please reach out if you have any other issues in the future.

Message 6: From Me to Uber

Are you able to share the outcome of the investigation? Can you tell me what consequences the driver faced as a result of his behavior?

Message 7: From Uber to Me

Hi Joe,
Thanks for following up. We understand you’d like to know more about the outcome of our investigation around your trip on 03-25-2024.
While we can no longer share further details about the investigation due to our Privacy Notice , we can assure you that we’ve thoroughly reviewed this report and have taken appropriate action on your case pursuant to our policies.
You can learn more about this matter by checking out Uber’s Community Guidelines and Uber’s Service Animal and Assistive Device Policy.

We appreciate your understanding, and please reach out if you have any other questions – we are here to help.

Uber is Also Discriminating Against Babies

Fast forward to October 14. I was standing outside with a couple friends. The Uber vehicle pulls up. The driver doesn’t say anything, so it’s not until I double check my app that I realize Leila has arrived.

One of my friends steps off the curb and heads for the vehicle to open the back door. I pick up the car seat in which my daughter has already been fastened, step off the curb and begin heading for the open back door.

The driver tells my friend to close the door for a second. He does. We both think she’s going to perhaps back up and pull up closer to the curb. Instead, she pulls out of the parking lot and cancels the trip.

Surely, you are reasonable enough to recognize this is a reportable offense.

The app does not make it easy to report such offenses. I try to submit the report via the app, and based on the vague acknowledgement, I can’t tell if the complaint has been properly submitted. I call their safety line and explain the situation to the representative, because it’s not a stretch to label it a safety concern. I wonder now how the situation would have played out had I had no witnesses who can verify my story. The temperature was cold. Imagine if it had been late at night under worse weather conditions?

A while later, this was Uber’s response:

Message: From Uber to Me

Hi Joe,

Thanks for reaching out, I am *name redacted* from Uber Support.

We’re sorry to hear that your driver on this trip did not maintain appropriate standards of professional service as drove off after watching you with a car seat, which caused you difficulties. I can understand how upsetting this can be and I’d be happy to take care of this for you.

Due to the issue you have described, I’ve added $10.00 in Uber Cash to your account that can be used on a future ride or Uber Eats order. I’ve also let our systems know not to match you with this driver again.

Drivers who use the Uber network are advised to be courteous, professional, and considerate at all times, and it sounds like that’s not what happened during this trip.

Additionally, we understand your perspective and want to make sure your Uber experiences are consistently great. Thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback about your driver’s behavior during this ride. However, due to our Privacy Notice, we cannot disclose what actions may be taken as a result of this feedback.

Your patience during this matter will be appreciated.

Thank you for being a valued user – we really appreciate your support!

Message: From Me to Uber

I don’t want your $10 Uber cash. The safety of my daughter is worth more than your token gesture. I want Leila removed from the platform. More importantly, you should want Leila removed from your platform. She is a poor representative of your company’s core values, and her actions today demonstrate she is incapable of delivering even basic quality customer service. A driver who is capable of refusing a blind passenger with a toddler is likely a driver capable of doing more harm to the community she is supposed to be serving. Please help me elevate this matter to a supervisor who can give the matter proper attention. Fixing the system so that she and I are never matched again is not enough of a resolution.

What Now?

I have no idea what consequences, if any, either driver faced as a result of their gross display of discrimination. In the case of Marcus, the driver did not so much as send a message to explain their rationale. He couldn’t be bothered to pick up his phone when I called to deny me to my face, but in exchange for my troubles, Uber refunded my trip. I think that was supposed to make things better? In the case of the second driver, Uber has decided you can put a price on safety.

If you want to contact Uber to report your own incident of discrimination, you can visit this support page for general ways to contact the company, or use this dedicated page to report the discrimination.

There is an informative Reddit thread that may also spark ideas on how to protect yourself and report the incidents.

Coincidentally, this week the National Federation of the Blind is leading demonstrations in front of the headquarters of Uber and Lyft in San Francisco. I hope the voices of these advocates rings loud and makes a tangible difference in the way these companies do business.

Perhaps it is unfair to assign total blame to Uber, and by extension, Lyft, for the disgusting behavior of some of its drivers. Given how these companies are responding to the complaints though, one can’t help but feel as though the companies are condoning the behavior. If that is the case, then they should face the consequences.

Final Thoughts

Anyone considering driving for Uber or any other rideshare service should be clear on what they’re signing up for. Yes, it’s about accepting the occasional service animal in your vehicle, as mandated by law, but it’s also about language considerations. My ride should not be cancelled because the GPS took you to the wrong side of the building, and we can’t properly communicate in English to help direct you to the right location.

If you’re a person with a disability, you are not being an imposition by reporting any negative experiences to the rideshare company related to your disability. Federal law guarantees your right to be treated equally. Please do not pass on the opportunity to let your voice be heard, because if the situation truly is a case of lack of proper education, you will have passed on a great teaching moment.

I had a person once tell me that in the case of Uber, they felt bad reporting their incident of discrimination because the vehicles are personal vehicles. First, this is not entirely accurate. A good number of drivers lease the vehicles through Uber, but second, even in cases where the vehicle is personally owned, their choice to use that vehicle for public service makes it a requirement for them to comply with state and federal laws. It’s no different from people who choose to open their homes via services like Airbnb.

Know your rights. Exercise them. You deserve to enjoy a smooth trip experience. As you’ve now learned from the second incident, you may experience a situation where you are discriminated against just for being a parent.

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My blog is a collection of advice I wish someone had shared with me when I was young and targets subjects like personal finance, careers, and relationships. It publishes Mondays with the occasional bonus article. Sign up to have fresh content delivered straight to your inbox, no SPAM!

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