Last summer, when Krystal White was visiting Houston for a National Federation of the Blind convention. She claims she had to hide her guide dog named Gage in order to get an Uber from the airport.
It’s a common problem, she explains. “I had them drive past me and neighbors said, ‘I think that was your Uber driver,'” White said. “And I’m like, ‘oh great.’ So I missed appointments, I missed my daughter’s play at school.
“It makes you feel isolated, like it’s all your fault, you’re blind.” And you can’t achieve anything when you try hard to achieve it.
White, of Boise, Idaho, was among protesters who gathered Oct. 15 outside Uber and Lyft’s San Francisco headquarters to demand that the companies take major steps to end discrimination against disabled people on their platforms, in particular with regard to visually impaired people who use guide dogs or white canes.
Many have had personal experiences where they say Uber or Lyft drivers rejected them as soon as they arrived. Juanita Herrera, from Southern California, was at the protest with her 4-year-old daughter. She says that when she was pregnant years ago, she got out of work late and didn’t want to take public transportation, so she called an Uber.
“The driver showed up, saw my dog and started becoming aggressive. He told me “no dogs”. And I’m like, ‘But he’s a service animal.’ He kept saying ‘no dogs,’” she said. “I’m obviously pregnant at this point, aren’t I?” He kind of left me stranded. He then left. He wouldn’t cancel the trip until 15 minutes later.
On another occasion in 2021, a Lyft driver refused to stop while Herrera’s young daughter was in a car seat, because of her guide dog, Jaden. The driver said she wasn’t taking animals. Herrera says the driver claimed to be unaware of Lyft’s policy regarding guide dogs and that when she still refused to take them, Herrera told the driver she would report the incident. The driver became very angry, accused Herrera of trying to get her fired, then left, she said. Herrera says she filed a report and nothing came of it.
At the protest, people said companies should have a “zero tolerance policy” for discriminatory drivers who turn away visually impaired passengers. They also said ride-hailing companies need to better educate their drivers on how to accommodate people with visual impairments. The protest was organized by the National Federation of the Blind and took place on the occasion of White Cane Awareness Day, aimed at highlighting the needs of visually impaired people.
