fter the protest against Uber’s and Lyft's absence of policies when it comes to people with disabilities, Lyft is working on a special feature for
people who need a service dog.
We can all agree that Uber and Lyft need to do more in order to support people with special needs, especially those who are blind or visually impaired. The protests were on October 15 and people gathered in order to support the cause outside of Uber and Lyft HQ.
Weird spoke with the protestors and found out the hard truth about their experience. The majority of them said that drivers refused to let them bring their guide dogs on the rides, causing them to miss appointments, and events, and the drivers simply passing and ignoring them.
The protesters said that Uber and Lyft drivers should be more tolerant when it comes to service dogs and that companies should also be more educated about their drivers. Even more so, the protestors say that they also should have a “zero-tolerance” policy for discriminatory behavior.
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As a response, a spokesperson from Lyft said “We strive to provide an inclusive and accessible platform for riders, including those who rely on service animals.” and also said that the company is “working directly with advocacy organizations in the community” mentioning a “service animal opt-in feature” that should be available by 2025.
This announcement was mentioned in one of Lyft’s profiles of a new product manager Shreya Shankar, who mentioned that riders will “declare that they have a service animal”, so the driver will know in advance that the riders have a service animal. “That way there shouldn’t be any surprises — or confusion or frustration from getting stranded,” Shreya Shankar also said.
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