[NAGDU] Uber Service Animal Self ID Program

[carcione at access.net]

Hi Julie.

Sorry to hear of your difficulties.  It is very aggravating.

It's a pain, but have you made a report to

uber-feedback at nagdu.org <mailto:uber-feedback at nagdu.org> 

 

The Uber disability team really does seem to monitor reports there.

I know the self-ID is supposed to automatically trigger an investigation,
but are those issues shared with the disability team, who can initiate
changes?  I don't know.  From talking to Brianna, our NAGDU liason at Uber,
it seems like separate Uber groups don't always talk to each other.

Tracy

 

 

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

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nagdu_nfbnet.org/attachments/20250409/97092519/attachment.htm>