Uber accused of imposing a financial penalty for people with disabilities

Some people with disabilities sometimes pay more expensive their journees failing to be able to raise fast enough by car, note the US Department of Justice, who assigned the Californian company in court.

Le Monde with AFP

The US Department of Justice assigned Wednesday, November 10 in a Federal Court of California the Uber platform, to which he reproaches not adapting his service to people with disabilities, who sometimes pay more expensive their Trajective fault to be able to ride fast enough by car.

Since 2016, Uber has set up a financial penalty imposed on the customer when the driver expects more than two minutes at the rendezvous point set in advance (five minutes for Uber Black or SUV customers). However, promotes the public prosecutor in the Assignment document, “many passengers with reduced mobility need more than two minutes to mount or load a vehicle”, especially for those moving in wheelchair or in walker.

According to the elements mentioned by the Crown, Uber A, on a case-by-case basis, repayed with disabilities who had to pay more to their race, but the platform has sometimes also refused to take into account the requests on this basis. Drivers can not change the settings of the race and prevent clients with reduced mobility to be penalized.

Tariff change “Last week”

For the Ministry of Justice, these practices are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Great Law Against Disability Discrimination and voted by the US Congress in 1990.

For his part, Uber said he had changed “last week” in this area. “From now on, overflow (boarding time) will be removed for any passenger who will certify being with disabilities,” said the carrier. The latter denies the fact that its regulation and its pricing are offense with the ADA and ensures that it will “continue to improve its products to allow everyone to move around at home”.

/Media reports.