Victorian woman Kathryn Beaton says repeated, illegal denials of service from drivers refusing to allow her guide dog into their vehicles have left her effectively housebound.
Edited to add: “anxious and in tears” is some shit tier headline writing when the real problem is the loss of independence and freedom, and the hours she has had to spend waiting just to be actively discriminated against.
I have a disability but I do think rideshare drivers should be allowed to decide if they want dogs in their privately-owned cars or not.
I find it strange that the person in the article specifically mentions 23 refusals from Uber drivers, but what about taxis? Taxis should not discriminate, unless the driver has a particular condition like allergies to dogs. If I had an assistance dog, I would be seeking taxis, not rideshare, because I understand most people wouldn’t want dogs in their own vehicle.
Do note I mentioned assistance dogs, which require certification.
Ride share has been so devastating to the taxi industry that a lot of those businesses folded. Taxi businesses generally have been much more regulated than rideshare (much like hotels are more regulated than airbnb), so it was difficult to compete when Uber and Lyft popped up.
So she might not HAVE access to a taxi due to the way ride share has taken over. A lot of places are “ride share or nothing” now.
In my experience calling a taxi leaves you on the phone on hold for 45mins, or the driver cancels on the way if they find someone else first (requiring you to rebook), or they don’t frequently show up in the area you need one, or they straight up drive past you to deny you to your face. Or they illegally require destination before allowing you in.
It might just be that it’s easier to count denials in the account history of the Uber app.
That’s appalling that that sort of behaviour is still prevalent with taxis. I think rideshare services also share the same problem though? There have been many anecdotes onine by Australians quoting their awful experiences with rideshare drivers and even some mentioning they found taxis to be the better option nowadays.
Regradless, I firmly believe the taxi industry should be held up to a higher standard.
Taxis were terrible before ride sharing came along and ride sharing has made them better - the Taxis have made significant efforts to improve now that they don’t have a monopoly. But they haven’t improved enough - Taxis are definitely worse than Uber in my city.
I think rideshare services have a bad reputation because they made some mistakes when they were starting out, and even now when they start in a new city and every single driver has zero experience so there will still be mistakes… but in general, now that ridesharing is well established, they are the best available service (at least in my city anyway - which is in Australia).
Yes, there’s still the occasional awful experience. “The best available” doesn’t mean “good enough”.