Disabled Americans rely on rideshare apps but say they still face discrimination

Disabled people who use rideshare apps Lyft and Uber say their experience is not a seamless task of pressing a few buttons and being whisked to their destination minutes later.

Instead, people who use wheelchairs and guide dogs have watched drivers cancel rides, charge cleaning fees for guide dogs or outright refuse to take them where they need to go.

The rideshare companies plan to push app updates soon to address cancellations and misunderstandings, but advocates and disabled users say they want to see drivers be better educated about how to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and want the companies to put in stricter discrimination policies. The new app features are just “window dressing,” said Lynn Dubinsky.

“This option puts the burden back on the client rather than on the companies themselves to directly address (discrimination) with their drivers,” said Dubinsky, who works for a guide-dog training school in San Rafael, California.

Uber and Lyft have been the target of past federal lawsuits that allege they didn't follow ADA laws; Uber settled its suit in 2022 and Lyft settled a separate one in 2020. While rideshare apps aren't the only option for disabled people across the U.S. — public transit agencies must also have ADA-compliant buses and trains and offer paratransit options like shuttles — the disabled community relies on rideshare more than others, according to 2022 U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics.

That's the case for Amber Sherrard, who is blind and has a guide dog named Della.

The 32-year-old Denver resident has grown accustomed to drivers refusing to transport Della, whom she prefers to bring along instead of using a cane, which she says is less safe. Once, she ended up getting a ride from strangers at Denver's airport because a rideshare driver wouldn't allow Della in the car.

Uber's app update will give users a way to identify as blind or deaf. Lyft will allow users to tell a driver they have a service animal — something that Uber launched as a small pilot program earlier this week in the U.S. and Canada. Both rideshare companies have hotlines for people to report drivers who refuse to allow them into their cars with a service animal.

Sherrard said she's skeptical that the new app features will help, since she usually informs drivers about her guide dog and figured out how to add that she's visually impaired to her profile name to cut down on cancellations.

“Just like every other person in America working multiple jobs, trying to survive, I don’t have the time,” she said of drivers who've denied her rides. “I have just as many bills as anyone else. I have just as many working hours as everyone else. I have just as many errands and things to do to survive as anyone else.”

Robert Silva has had issues with rideshare drivers because of his folding wheelchair, which he has used since losing his right leg in a car accident. The 34-year-old from Alameda, California, said he once tried ordering a rideshare five times in an hour and a half to go to Disneyland before a driver accepted his request.

“They just see me in a wheelchair, first thing, and they’re expecting that there’s going to be a lot of baggage there,” said Silva, who usually can get into a vehicle without assistance. “I’m sure when they see me they think it’s going to be a lot more work than it actually is.”

Uber and Lyft said their disability policies include following the ADA and not denying rides to people solely because they have a guide dog. The companies also said new drivers are made aware of the policies during onboarding, and that established drivers get occasional reminders of disability policies. If drivers wrongfully decline to accommodate riders because of a service animal, they face a potential ban.

Under the ADA, U.S. cities that have public transportation must provide paratransit at a comparable cost to the regular transit system.

Cathy Johnston, 70, uses Atlanta's MARTA Mobility paratransit program so she doesn't have to leave her power wheelchair behind for a foldable wheelchair like she does when using Uber or Lyft. It's not as timely as rideshare; Johnston said she's had to wait up to 45 minutes — even after scheduling it at least 24 hours in advance.

“It makes me mad because hey, I have things I have to do,” she said.

In recent years, 36 transportation programs in 15 states and Washington, D.C., have bolstered paratransit offerings with Uzurv, a rideshare company that specializes in door-to-door service for people with disabilities. The company says it immediately bans drivers who discriminate against disabled riders.

Portland, Oregon, lost a third of its cab fleet because of a drop in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after, TriMet, the city’s public transit operation, signed a contract with Uzurv.

It's been an “out-of-the-box” solution that Eileen Collins Turvey, TriMet's director of accessibility programs, is satisfied with — so much so that she hopes to make it an on-demand service next year.

But first, she wants to be able to expand all paratransit contractors’ ability to serve wheelchair users.

“We need to get beyond the floor of the ADA,” she said.