【Secret Tutoring (2018)】

Another lawsuit was filed against Uber today.

This time,Secret Tutoring (2018) the Equal Rights Center, a civil rights organization in Washington, D.C., filed suit against the ride-sharing company for not having wheelchair-accessible cars, according to a news release.

The lawsuit says that "Uber has designed and operated its transportation service in the District of Columbia in a way that effectively excludes wheelchair users from its basic 'UberX' product."

The lawsuit further states that Uber instead directs people who use wheelchairs to hail an accessible D.C. taxi through the "TAXI WAV" feature. TAXI WAV is Uber's wheelchair accessible option. According to the lawsuit, none of the more than 30,000 vehicles operated by Uber are capable of transporting people who use wheelchairs that can't be folded and stored in a trunk.

"Uber is not exempt from anti-discrimination laws," ERC Executive Director Melvina Ford said in a news release. "It has a legal obligation to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access its transportation services without excessive costs and wait times. This is a problem we know Uber can fix.”

The ERC alleges that the company doesn't ensure equal service for people who use wheelchairs in Washington, D.C., and therefore violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires companies to provide people with "full and equal enjoyment" of services like Uber's.

Additionally, the ERC said Uber is violating the D.C. Human Rights Act, which says people with disabilities should have “an equal opportunity to participate fully in the economic, cultural and intellectual life of the District."

Equal Rights Center v. Uber Technologies Inc. Complaint by on Scribd

A study conducted by the ERC found that customers who use wheelchairs using the TAXI WAV feature waited an average of eight minutes longer than customers using UberX, and also paid nearly twice as much in fares.

"The investigation also established that, on occasion, no accessible vehicles were available at all," according to the ERC's news release.

In a statement, an Uber spokesperson told Mashable, "We take this issue seriously and are committed to continued work with the District, our partners, and stakeholders toward expanding transportation options and freedom of movement for all residents throughout the region."

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