[NAGDU] Uber Service Animal Self ID Program

[Leslie Hamric]

And that's the million dollar question. Can we do more, yes. What is the answer? There is no good answer. There's no right or wrong answer. Except maybe a class action lawsuit. But even that would come with his own set of pros and cons. I think that we have to go by trial and error and see which one works best.
Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher

> On Apr 8, 2025, at 9:04 PM, Shannon Cook via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> It is one of those things akin to “you can bring a horse to water but you just can’t make him drink.” In the end, any of these companies can do only so much. I don’t know a lot of options left to the ride share companies f a driver is determined not to transport a service dog and handler, without doing something to block the car from continuing. Can they still do more? Yes. Do I know what that would or should be? No.  
>  
> Shannon Cook
> The greatest investment you can make in this world is kindness.
>  
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie A. Orozco via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, April 8, 2025 9:34 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
> Subject: [NAGDU] Uber Service Animal Self ID Program
>  
> Good evening fellow guide dog users,
>  
> I hope all of you are doing well. I am *finally* working my third guide dog, a male chocolate lab from The Seeing Eye, called Xavier. He’s a wonderful dog and a joy to work.
>  
> Of course, working a dog brings about the inevitable Uber denials. I’ve gotten three so far, and we’ve only been home a couple of weeks. (Uber and Lyft are really terrible in the DC area.)
>  
> For some reason, Sunday was just a bad day for me and Uber. I have self ID turned on, so drivers should be notified when they arrive that they are picking up someone with a service animal and that they are required by law to allow us in their car. At least, that was my understanding. But these drivers seem unable to understand the self ID notification. Either that, or they are not being notified properly.
>  
> I had three drivers on Sunday going to and from a friend’s house. The first driver took me, only when I pointed to my eyes and told him I was blind and that my dog was working. (Sometimes, looking blind has its advantages.) He did not understand when I asked him if the app told him I was traveling with a service animal.
>  
> The second driver, the one who was set to take me home, refused us access. He did not speak English, but even when my friend and I pulled out Google translate, he would not budge. He said no dogs in his car and even canceled the ride. I am not sure if he received the notification, but he seemed totally clueless about the whole service animal thing. I don’t think he was faking it either because if so, he wouldn’t have wanted to cancel the ride himself.
>  
> The third driver didn’t want to take me at first either. I had to explain to him what my dog was for, and once I did, he got it. I asked him if he received the notification, and he said yes but that he didn’t get a chance to read it. He said he could just get passed it without reading it.
>  
> So, my questions follow. Are drivers being notified and trained about their requirements under law to take service animal teams in their language of choice? Second, what does the notification system look like? I imagined something that would pop up and force them to read before proceeding with the trip. How are so many of my drivers seeming confused about me and my guide dog? Is this still happening to anyone else? Or do I live in the land of Uber access denials?
>  
> I was hesitant about self ID, but I am happy with it because it doesn’t alert the drivers until they arrive. It’s like Uber telling them for me when I’m right there that the driver has to follow the law and take me with my service animal. But it’s not effective if drivers can just ignore the notifications.
>  
> Apologies for the long email, and thank you for any perspective you can provide.
>  
> Julie
>  
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