Michelle Barlak, public relations manager for The Seeing Eye, which provides guide dogs to people with visual impairments, tells WIRED that the organization has received “frequent and increasing reports of denial of ride access by Seeing Eye dog handlers.” A survey by the nonprofit Guide Dogs for the Blind found that 83 percent of members said they had been denied rides.
Both Uber and Lyft offer in-app options that allow people to indicate they are traveling with a pet, which usually means paying a little more. However, since guide dogs are not pets, visually impaired people cannot be required to take advantage of this option.
A Lyft spokesperson tells WIRED that the company will launch a “service animal opt-in feature” by 2025, which will allow passengers to “disclose that they are traveling with a service animal when requesting a ride.”
Uber, which did not respond to a request for comment, offers passengers the option to indicate whether they are traveling with a service animal through in-app settings.
“Under the ADA, rideshare drivers cannot deny entry based on a dog's size, weight or breed, allergies, fear of dogs, or cultural/religious concerns,” Barlak tells WIRED.
During the protest, White argues that guide dogs are not at all comparable to pets, which drivers may fear are unruly or misbehaved. However, some drivers don't see them any differently.
“Healing dogs are $75,000 dogs; they don't go to the bathroom in your car or get sick in your car,” White says.
Barlak says Uber and Lyft should make it easier for visually impaired passengers to report problems using their services and that the companies should better educate their drivers about the needs of blind passengers.
Michael Forzano, a protester living in New York who uses a service dog, claims that drivers have slammed the door on him three times, driven away with his hands still on the car, and nearly ran over his service dog's legs. According to him, nothing happened after reporting these incidents.
On another occasion, an Uber driver in Orlando refused service to Forzano and his girlfriend when they got into the car with his service dog. He says the driver turned on loud music and verbally assaulted them until they ended the ride. “I waited more than an hour for the police to arrive,” Forzano said. “The police sided with the driver, and I'm still in the process of doing so.”
