Woman says Uber drivers will cancel her rides because of her disability
Becca Shrier said it's nearly impossible to find an Uber car that will pick her up where she can reach it.
By Sabrina Franza
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CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — It’s happened to many of us; you call an Uber only for it to pull over down the block or across a busy street. One woman said, when it happens to her, the Uber drivers will just cancel. She has a disability and cannot track the cars down.
Becca Shrier relies on Uber to get around, only she said it’s nearly impossible to find a car that will pick her up where she can reach it.
“I have been fighting for five months to be picked up on my side of the street,” she said.
Shrier uses a cane to get around, and can only stand for short periods of time.
She said, when she calls an Uber, she is only able to message a driver about her disability after arranging a ride, and most times the driver doesn’t adjust their pickup spot.
“A driver would see me, and I have tried to tell them through the app to come to my side of the street. They’ll see me with the cane, realize they need to make a U-turn, and go away,” she said. “It is inconvenient on many of those streets to make a U-turn, and they don’t want to deal with it.”
She’s complained so many times, she can recite the responses.
“‘Here are these are the accessible options that we have. We have WAV vehicles.’ And I will reply, ‘I cannot use a WAV vehicle,” she said.
She’s been delayed for many appointments as a result.
“It meant that I missed a doctor’s appointment for a doctor who books four months out,” she said.
Without a concrete response from Uber or Pace, which sponsors the Rideshare Access Program for people with disabilities.
Pace said it was not aware of others with this issue, and Uber did not respond with an official statement, even after CBS News Chicago spoke with company representatives on the phone and via email.
Shrier said even going to meet a friend for coffee is a struggle. She just wants to do the things that others take for granted, but this makes things exponentially worse.
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