Uber Corp. Does Not Provide Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles. Talking With Disability Rights Groups

[From article]
Uber Boston, facing criticism that it offers only limited service to people with disabilities, has agreed to work with advocates on improving the accessibility of the ride-hailing service.
The Uber Boston Disability Coalition, announced Thursday, includes the Disability Law Center, the Disability Policy Consortium, and the Boston Center for Independent Living.
[. . .]
Leading the partnership is Disability Law Center executive director Christine Griffin. She hopes an Uber-like system will eventually replace the MBTA’s little-loved RIDE paratransit service, which costs taxpayers millions to operate and has faced criticism by riders who say it’s frequently late and takes wildly inefficient routes.
“I think this could really end up being a salvation,” Griffin said. “It would be cheaper and faster — and trust me, no one would mourn the RIDE if we replaced it.”
“The MBTA welcomes assistance that helps meet the transportation needs of the para-transit community,” MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in an email. In November, the MBTA began a six-month pilot program to allow passengers who would otherwise hail the RIDE to take a taxi instead. There is a chance a service like Uber could join that fleet.
Griffin, whose group publicly criticized Uber last year for not complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Uber seemed sincere about wanting to solve the problem. Currently, the company offers only limited service to people who use wheelchairs in certain cities.
[. . .]
The biggest challenge, Griffin said, will be bringing wheelchair-accessible vehicles into Uber’s network. The company is reluctant to purchase and operate such vans itself, Griffin said, as its business model depends on independent contractors who drive their own cars.
Uber has argued in the past that it is not legally obligated to provide services to riders with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it is a technology company that provides a service rather than a transportation company.
[. . .]
“Uber wants to solve this without changing their business model,” Griffin said. “But they’re open to a lot of ways to achieve this. I think it will be several types of solutions, not one thing.”

http://www.betaboston.com/news/2016/02/04/uber-boston-annouces-partnership-with-disability-advocates/

Uber Boston announces partnership with disability advocates
Nidhi Subbaraman and Dan Adams
02/04/2016