[NAGDU] Uber Service Animal Self ID Program

[Al Sten-Clanton]

Hi, Julie!


Congratulations on getting your new pup.


I'm sorry I have noting to add concerning these denials except an extra 
measure of rage.


Best!


Al


On 4/8/25 21:34, Julie A. Orozco via NAGDU wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/albert.e.sten_clanton%40verizon.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nagdu_nfbnet.org/attachments/20250409/71172454/attachment.htm>