The US Department of Justice on Wednesday (November 10) assigned to a federal court in California the Uber platform, which it accuses of not having adapted its service to people with disabilities, who sometimes pay more for their trips for lack of be able to get into the car fast enough.
Since 2016, Uber has in fact implemented a financial penalty imposed on the customer when the driver waits more than two minutes at the meeting point fixed in advance (five minutes for Uber Black or SUV customers). However, argues the public prosecutor in the document of the summons, “Many passengers with reduced mobility need more than two minutes to get on or load a vehicle”, especially for those using a wheelchair or a walker.
According to the elements cited by the public prosecutor, Uber has, on a case-by-case basis, reimbursed customers with disabilities who had to pay more for their trip, but the platform has sometimes also refused to take into account requests on this based. Drivers cannot change the parameters of the trip and prevent customers with reduced mobility from being penalized.
Pricing change “last week”
For the Department of Justice, these practices violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a major law against discrimination related to disability and passed by the US Congress in 1990.
For its part, Uber said it had made a change ” last week “ in this domain. “From now on, the costs of exceeding (boarding time) will be waived for any passenger who certifies to be in a disabled situation”, said the carrier. The latter denies the fact that its regulations and pricing are in violation of the ADA and assures that it will “Continue to improve its products to allow everyone to move easily around their home”.