DENVER— Michael Bloomston is no stranger to rejection. A resident of Cherry Creek North, he relies on his eight-year-old guide dog Yardley to get around due to his poor vision.
“I’ve even been denied by drivers three times in one day,” said Bloomston. “You explain to them it’s a service dog, you have to take us, this is the law, this is the rules from Uber, and they would still do it and drive away."
Uber launched a new feature in early February to try and prevent these types of denials from happening again. It’s a self-ID feature in the app that allows users to select if they’re riding with a service animal. Bloomston says he’s happy to see progress being made.
“I’m very optimistic about the new program which will alert drivers once they arrive at your location to pick you up that you’ll be traveling with a service animal,” said Bloomston.
If the driver requests to cancel the trip at pickup, the driver will receive an in-app notification reminding them it is against the law to refuse the ride.
“We just don’t know whether drivers are removed from the platform, and that’s something we’re hoping to eventually negotiate,” said Vice President of the National Association of Guide Dog Users Paul Sandoval.
Sandoval said one of the organization’s board members has been working with Uber throughout the development of this new feature. But he's still concerned about accountability if a driver should cancel.
“We were told initially that I believe there was two strikes and then the driver would be removed. This still isn’t completely clear as to how Uber is going to deal with this situation,” said Sandoval.
The Follow Up
Colorado org. calls rideshare drivers turning away service dogs an 'epidemic'
Members of the National Federation of the Blind Colorado were recently at the Colorado State Capitol meeting with people and passing out this year's legislative agenda. They say they’re pushing for action to be taken at the state level so discrimination against rideshare users with service dogs stops.
Scripps News Denver asked lawmakers if a legislative study committee that will take a look at preventing discrimination against people using rideshare with service dogs will be formed. Rep. Gretchen Rydin, a Democrat who represents Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, said house leadership is pausing nearly a dozen interim committees to reduce costs at the legislature due to their budget crisis, indicating that they will not approve new committees.
For Bloomston, it’s a small victory for now. He’s hopeful the new Uber feature will help to smooth out what’s been a bumpy ride so far.
“It was always the rider who was getting punished. You’re late for appointments or stuck outside when it’s freezing cold or raining so this definitely takes several layers of stress away,” said Bloomston.
Rep. Rydin said she’s very open to tackling the discriminatory practices of ride share drivers affecting those with service animals in the next session.
Scripps News Denver reached out to Uber but we did not receive a response. It’s unclear at this point if a driver who refuses a ride will be terminated or reprimanded.
Scripps Denver also reached out to Lyft to see if it will be doing something similar. A spokesperson said Lyft is currently piloting a service animal opt-in feature which allows riders to disclose that they travel with a service animal when requesting a ride. It’s unclear when the app will be available to the public.
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