SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber and advocates for the blind have reached a lawsuit settlement in which the ride-hailing company agrees to require that new and existing drivers confirm they understand their legal obligations to transport riders with guide dogs or other service animals, an advocacy group announced Saturday.
The National Federation of the Blind said Saturday that Uber also will remove a driver from the platform after a single complaint if it determines the driver knowingly denied a person with a disability a ride because the person was traveling with a service animal.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2014 in federal court that alleges Uber discriminates against passengers with service dogs. The lawsuit said Uber drivers refused to take passengers with dogs and in one case locked the passenger’s service dog in the trunk.
Federal law requires taxis and other private transportation services to carry a disabled passenger’s service animal.
